


More Than Skin Deep

by SqueegeeBecksXo



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Smut, biker jughead, bughead - Freeform, self harm trigger warning, varchie
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-27
Updated: 2018-01-10
Packaged: 2019-02-22 15:18:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 42,356
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13169655
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SqueegeeBecksXo/pseuds/SqueegeeBecksXo
Summary: Betty Cooper is a photo-journalist who was just handed the job of a lifetime, but there's one catch: she has to go back to her home town, back to the place she ran from just a short five years ago. It's not a decision she ever thought she'd have to make but there's just something about this story she can't turn down. Will this be the career making opportunity she's been looking for or will it be something entirely different, something so much more? After meeting Jughead Jones and his gang, the Southside Serpents, she's not entirely sure of anything.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is total AU. I make no promises on finishing it, because I suck at that, but I've got to get this idea out of my head. If you'd like to follow my on Tumblr my username is heyytherejuliett
> 
> TW: Self-harm, possible violence, and rape will be discussed in later chapters. I will let you know in the beginning of said chapter but wanted to give a warning here as well.

Betty Cooper had been working at Small Town Mag for the last 3 years of her life. It was a small magazine publication out of a northern New York town by the name of Rocklind, that published political and social thought pieces every other week. Betty had been the lead photo-journalist since about a year ago, and she loved her job and her life. Having grown up in the southern most part of New York, she loved the slower pace this town seemed to have. When she left her childhood home 5 years ago, she didn't know where she would end up, but looking back, it seems almost as if it was fate that landed her here. 

After attending college at Columbia for a year and a half, working dead end job after dead end job and doing freelance work for pennies at a time, when this job offer came her way, she didn't even think twice. She packed up her life the next day and headed out, saying goodbye to her best friends and roommates, Veronica and Archie, not knowing when she would see them again. 

Though it was difficult at first, this move had been the best decision of her life. Rocklind was a small town, almost unknown to the rest of the world, but it had big dreams. Small Town Mag, which started out in her editors garage, had grown to be a well known national publication, and Betty's work was starting to be well known as well. Though she lived in Rocklind, not even a 5 minute walk from the magazine's office, she often traveled to other states or cities chasing a story. It's what she loved to do, even in high school. So whenever her boss asked her into her office to pitch an idea for a story, Betty was more then ready to say yes. 

"Cooper, my office, now." Her editor said quickly as she walked past Betty's desk. Janet was one of Betty's favorite people. She was fast talking, hard hitting, and as funny as they come. She was professional when she needed to be, and a good friend as well. 

"What's up boss?" Betty asked, walking into her editor's office as she took a seat in the plush grey chair in front of her desk. 

"I have a story I want you to follow." 

"No problem, whats the story?" Betty was more then prepared to say yes. It had been a few months since she traveled out of town for a story and was itching to write about and photograph something meaningful. 

"The Southside Serpents of Riverdale." Janet said with a hint of uncertainty. 

Betty felt her stomach drop. Riverdale was her home town and the Southside Serpents were the biker gang that basically ran the Southside. 

"You want me to do a story on the Southside Serpents? You do know that's a biker gang right?" 

"I do. However, apparently they have been making some changes within the club, under new leadership."

"New leadership?" Betty questioned. 

"I believe his name is Jughead Jones?" Janet said, looking through some papers on her desk until she found the one she wanted. "Yes, Jughead Jones. Apparently for the last 5 years he's been slowly trying to take the club in a more legitimate direction, and he'd like the town to know this. I had reached out to him a few years ago about doing an interview and he blew me off, but then a couple of days ago I got an e-mail and it seems he's changed his mind." 

Betty thought about the idea of going back to the town she had ran away from 5 years ago. She hadn't spoken to her family since the day she drove away and the idea of running into them made her stomach turn and her heart rate quicken in an anxious way. 

"I know what I'm asking here Betty. I don't expect you to say yes right now, but I want you to think about it. If you are worried about where you'd stay, don't. The Serpents own a bar called... " Janet paused for a moment, again looking through her papers. 

"The Whyte Whyrm." Betty finished her sentence. Having grown up in Riverdale, even on the Northside, she knew all about the Serpents and where they hung out. She only guessed the bar was owned by them as well. 

"Yes the Whyte Worm. Apparently it has an apartment on the second floor that is currently vacant and Mr. Jones is offering to let you stay there while you cover the story." Janet continued. 

"How long?" Betty asked, knowing she probably wouldn't like the answer. 

"A month, at least." 

"At least!?" Her voice was louder then she meant it to be. 

"I know, I know! But this could possibly be a huge story Betty. I know they say they are legit now, but if I know anything about biker gangs, that's never the case, at least not entirely. I want you to uncover whatever it is hiding under the surface. Get in good with them, make them trust you, and then find out their secrets. If I had anyone better suited for this job then you know I wouldn't have even asked you, but Betty you are the best." Betty simmered a bit at the compliment. 

Realistically she knew Janet was right. She was the best at what she did, and not just here at her magazine. She had gotten many offers over the years to come work for bigger named publications, but she liked Janet and loved her life here too much. But this was going to be a big job, a big story, and a large amount of time. Not to mention the added factor of it technically being back at her home town. 

"Janet I'm going to have to think about this. How much time do I have?" 

Janet took a deep breath before speaking, and again Betty knew she wouldn't like the answer. "I can give you the rest of the day off, but I really need an answer by tomorrow morning at the latest. I don't want to lose this story Betty. It could be our biggest yet." 

"I will let you know by tonight." Betty said with finality before exiting Janet's office. 

* * *

 

The walk home to Betty's one bedroom apartment was short, too short for her to think so instead she decided to head over to her favorite little coffee shop. After placing her order she pulled out her laptop and phone. She decided to shoot her best friend Veronica a text, asking for a FaceTime date a little later, knowing she would want her input and advice. 

After the barista brought her a large hot coffee she opened Google and began her research. She wanted to know more about this Jughead Jones and his so called leadership in the legitimate direction. She couldn't shake the feeling that the name Jughead sounded familiar. She knew for sure she hadn't gone to school with a Jughead, she would remember that, but she had definitely heard it somewhere. 

An hour and two large coffee's later she had only a little more information. Jughead Jones, aka Forsythe Pendleton Jones III was the son of Forsythe Pendleton Jones II, aka FP Jones. FP had been incarcerated for the last 5 years, after which his son had taken over leadership. Jughead's arrest record was surprisingly short; petty theft, breaking and entering, and public nudity. None of which screamed gang leader to her. She wasn't able to find a photo of Jughead, but FP's mugshot was had been plastered on every online newspaper at the time. As far as the gang itself, well there was no shortage of articles detailing their corrupt and criminal ways. From drugs to guns and even small stuff like detraction of public property, it seemed any and all crimes in Riverdale, both north and south, were pined on them, even if there was little to no proof. 

Betty didn't want to admit it to herself, but she could definitely see a story here. Her boss had forwarded her an e-mail from Jughead himself, where he talked about the charity work the gang was doing and how it was helping the community. She couldn't help but notice how articulate he seemed, not at all like the leader of a white trash biker gang. 

After hitting a dead end in her research she closed her laptop and stared out the window of the small cafe. When she left Riverdale she vowed to herself she would ever return. She had managed to escape from he abusive and controlling mother and had absolutely no intentions of ever seeing her again. Could she really go back to cover this story and manage to not run into her? Did her parents even live in Riverdale anymore? 

Just then her phone vibrated with a text from Veronica. 

**Veronica:** Hey B. I'll be home in 10. FaceTime then? 

**Betty:** Sounds good. 

Betty packed up her things and headed to her apartment. Exactly 10 minutes later, she was nestled into her couch when her phone rang with a FaceTime invite from Veronica. 

"Archie can you please stop the racket, I'm trying to FaceTime Betty!" Veronica was yelling behind her when Betty answered. She laughed to herself, instantly missing her two favorite people. "Hey babe. Sorry about that." Veronica finally said to her. 

"It's okay V. You know he can't go longer then 5 minutes without strumming that guitar or he starts to lose it." Betty teased. 

"I heard that!" She heard Archie yell from somewhere behind Veronica. 

The girls both laughed. 

"So whats up Nancy Drew. You said you had a possible job you wanted my opinion on?!" Veronica asked, settling herself into her own couch. 

"Ah yes." Betty bit her lip, unsure of how to start. "Okay so, my editor wants me to cover a story on the Southside Serpents." She quickly spat out. 

"Wait, as in  _the_ Southside Serpents? From Riverdale?" Veronica asked with confusion. 

"Yup. That same one. I would be going to stay and basically live with them for at least a month." 

"Yes because that sounds safe!" Veronica exclaimed. 

"Apparently the gang has gone in a more legitimate direction in the last 5 years. That's basically what the story is. Finding out if they are truly legit or not." 

"According to Jughead they are." Archie said, suddenly coming into view. 

"You know Jughead?!" Betty was confused. 

"Yea. His dad and my dad used to be best friends. We grew up together before I moved to the northside next door to you. We've kept in touch over the years. I could have sworn I told you about him before. In fact I think I even introduced yous a few times, at least." 

That was it. That's why the name Jughead seemed familiar. Suddenly the image of a lanky preteen boy with dark hair, tired eyes, and a grey crown beanie atop his head filled her minds eye. 

"I knew that name sounded familiar!" Betty said aloud. "You still talk to him?" She then asked. 

"Yea occasionally. We talked last month when he called to tell me Jellybean had gotten into NYU." Archie stated. 

"Jellybean?" Veronica questioned. 

"Yea that's his little sister. He's basically taken care of her his whole life. After his mom ran out on them and his dad got more involved with the gang, he was basically her only parent. Then when FP got arrested his officially took custody of her." 

Betty's interest was officially piqued. A young biker gang leader, who raised his baby sister, so well in fact that she managed to get into NYU, now THAT was a story. 

"I think you should do it Betty." Archie said, cutting through her reverie. 

"Archiekins I know he's your childhood friend and all, but Betty basically emerging herself in gang life for a month, does not seem like a good idea. Not to mention..." Veronica paused and Betty knew what she was going to say. 

"My mother. I know." 

Veronica, Betty, and Archie had gone to high school, and then college together. They had been the ones who helped Betty leave home that short 5 years ago. Without them she didn't know where she would be. They knew about the horrible abuse her mother put her through, though not all of it. Veronica's concern for Betty was warranted, and made her miss them even more. 

"Where would you stay?" Veronica asked. 

"Apparently there's an empty apartment above the Whyte Whyrm, the bar they own, that Jughead has offered to let me stay in while I cover the story. It's on the Southside. If I'm careful enough, I may never even run into her." Betty explained. 

"Betty, I can see it in your eyes, even through the phone, that you see a story here. I want you to do what makes you happy but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried about your safety, both with the gang, and your mother." Veronica said softly. 

"I know V, trust me I know. But I've followed my gut for the last 5 years of my life and it's never lead me in the wrong direction, I'd like to think I can trust it." 

"We support whatever decision you make Betty." Archie added. 

After another half hour of conversation, catching up a bit, Betty pulled out her phone and shot her editor a text. 

**Betty:** I'm in. 

**Janet:** I knew you would be. Pack your bags and get some sleep. Train leaves at 7:30am tomorrow. You're the best Cooper. xoxo 

Betty put her phone away without replying and began packing. This was going to be the start of something big, she could feel it. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Betty has decided to follow a story that has lead her back to her home town of Riverdale. Did she make the right decision?

The train ride from Rocklind to Riverdale was about 5 hours long. Betty had slept almost the entire way, only waking up when the announcement that they had arrived in Riverdale came over the speaker system. Getting up to gather her things, Betty felt groggy and a little sick. She had been too nervous to eat breakfast, something she was definitely regretting now, and her stomach was grumbling loudly. 

Her editor had e-mailed her all the information she would need, including a brief description of what Jughead Jones looked like, as he would be picking her up from the train station. After her conversation with Archie and Veronica, Betty had remembered meeting him with they were kids, but at 23 years old that was over 10 years ago and people can change a lot in that time. From the description her editor gave her and her own memory, she knew she was looking for a tall, dark haired guy wearing a leather jacket, and a grey beanie. Seemed simple enough. 

Stepping off the train and onto the platform, she began looking around. Suddenly her eyes locked with a pair of ice blues and she felt a shiver go down her spine. There stood Jughead Jones, not even 10 feet in front of her, the description and her memory both, doing him no justice. He was tall, probably at least 6'2" with a lean but muscular build. Not at all the lanky, pale, prepubescent boy she remembered him to be. His shoulders were broad, made to look even more so by the leather jacket marked with the Serpent logo he wore so easily. He was wearing black ripped jeans, combat boots, and suspenders hanging from his hips. Under his leather he wore a grey t-shirt with a S on it, and a flannel over that. His hair was even more inky black then she remembered, covered mostly by the grey crown beanie she had been told to look for. He stood there, standing out like a sore thumb, hands buried in his pockets. 

"Betty Cooper I'm guessing?" He asked as he slowly approached her. 

"Um, yea.. yes.. I'm Betty." She stuttered out, thinking to herself how she was making a great first impression. 

"I thought so, your editor said to look out for the blonde pony tail." He smirked. "Jughead Jones, nice to meet you." He offered her his hand to shake. 

"Nice to meet you too.. well... We've actually already met." Betty said after wiping her sweaty palms on her pants before shaking his hand. 

"We have?" He questioned, not yet dropping her hand. 

Betty could hardly focus on his question, distracted by the current of electricity that seemed to run from his hard to hers. 

"Archie Andrews." She managed to choke out. 

He stared at her for a moment, possibly waiting for her to explain, before she saw the realization form on his face.

"Oh shit! Betty Cooper, as in Archie's next door neighbor he used to spy on!" Jughead said after realizing who she was. 

"Excuse me?" Betty replied, taking her hand from his. "He used to spy on me?" 

Jughead chuckled before correcting himself, noticing the not so amused glare on her face. 

"Uh, no. I think I'm confused. Maybe that was a different neighbor." He replied, running his hand through his hair, somehow managing to not disturb his beanie. 

"Considering Archie's only other neighbor was 80 year old Mrs. Haddonfeild, I guess you could be right." Betty smirked. 

Jughead smiled wide and Betty felt her knees begin to weaken. There no denying this man was gorgeous but when he smiled it was like he lit up from within. 

"Well, you know those red heads, they are into some freaky shit." He said laughing. "Anyway, let me get your bags, my car is this way." He finished while taking her bags with ease from her hands. 

"You're not getting out of that so easily Jones. I'm going to want to know more." She eyed him as they walked toward his car. 

"Fair enough." He said. 

* * *

 

The car ride to the Whyte Whyrm was short. Betty was grateful that Jughead had taken the back roads, avoiding the neighborhoods of Riverdale all together. Being back in this place had her whole body on high alert, like at any moment her mother could pop out and ruin all the hard work Betty had put into becoming a whole person again. On top of that, her palms sweated and her heart raced, being in such close proximity to Jughead. She knew that if she was going to be able to find the story and get through this month, she would have to reign in her attraction to him. She was a professional and this was a job, she had to remember that. 

Though Betty had heard of the Whyte Whyrm, she had never been there. Growing up, Northside Riverdale stayed on the Northside. Southside even had it's own high school. The closest any of them really got to the Southside was Pop Tate's Choclit Shoppe, which technically sat on the Southside, but was so close to the boarder that it never seemed to matter. The Whyte Whyrm, situated on the far end of the Southside, was probably at least 40 minutes from her childhood home. Betty felt a sense of ease knowing this, and knowing that her mother would never be caught dead on this side of town, let alone this far out. 

The Whyte Whyrm was bigger then she had imagined it. Sitting on a large piece of land at just about the edge of a hill right off the exit of the highway, it was the perfect spot for a biker bar. The parking lot was large, having a side of it carved out specifically for giant 18-wheeler trucks, while most of the other side of it was taken up by motorcycles. The building itself had a wide wrap around front porch with double wood doors at the entrance. There was clearly a second, and possibly third floor, one of which she knew housed a one bedroom apartment. The pink neon sign shown brightly, with a green double headed snake in the shape of and S between the words Whyte and Whyrm. It was the Serpents logo. Overall the outside of the bar was well kept, with good landscaping. She made a mental note to take some pictures when she got the chance. 

When they entered the bar, Betty was instantly hit with the strong stench of alcohol, cigarette's, and wood all mixed together. It wasn't necessarily a bad smell though, just strong. In the middle of the room was the bar, fully stocked with more alcohol then she had ever seen. To the left was a stage where she figured they had live music, with numerous round tables in front of it. Off to the right, she could see a double staircase, that she figured lead upstairs, with more tables and chairs in front of it. Back behind the bar, it was a bit darker, with tables and chairs and what looked to be a stage with a stripper pole. Betty stared in that direction for a moment, wondering how she had never known Riverdale had a strip joint. 

The place wasn't too busy, but not empty either. Jughead led her toward the bar, where a gorgeous girl with soft golden light brown skin and long pink hair hair was tending the bar. She noticed the girl was wearing a leather jacket with the Serpent logo on it. 

"Hey Toni. This is Betty Cooper. She's the journalist I was telling you about that will be staying here for a while, writing a story about us." Jughead said as he introduced the two. 

"Hey Betty, I'm Toni." The girl said, offering Betty her hand. 

"Nice to meet you Toni. You're the bar tender?" Betty asked, shaking the girls hand. 

"Most days." Toni simply replied. 

Betty was about to ask another question when she felt Jughead's hand between her shoulders, leading her in a different direction. She couldn't help the reaction her body had to his touch, and she lost her train of thought. 

"Come on Betty, let me show you where you'll be staying. Toni, I'll catch up with you later." He said leading Betty toward the double staircase. 

"No problem Boss." Toni replied. 

Betty followed him up the small staircase on the right, which lead to a short hallway with a door on the other end. She wondered idly where the other staircase led to, again making a mental note to check that out. 

"Welcome to your home away from home Betty Cooper." He said as he unlocked the door, letting her enter first. 

The apartment was small but spacious, if that was possible. It had a living room and kitchen separated by a small breakfast bar. There was no dinning room, but the living room was decently large. Through the living room were two doors, which she guessed were the bedroom and bathroom. There were beautiful hardwood floors throughout and the entire place was fully furnished. 

"It's not much, but I hope it will do for the next few weeks." Jughead said. 

"It's perfect. Bigger then my apartment in Rocklind actually." She said, softly chuckling. 

"My apartment is literally right across the hall, up the other staircase. If you ever need anything and can't find me in the bar, that's probably where I am." 

"Good to know." She smiled. He smiled back and again she felt her knees get week.  _Get a grip Cooper_ she thought to herself. 

"Well I'll let you get settled in then. Feel free to wonder around the bar, no place is really off limits, besides the basement, for insurance purposes." He chuckled. "I've got some work to do, but I'll be around later. Is there anything else I can get you or do for you?" He asked, just as her empty stomach decided to make itself known. 

She felt her face flush in embarrassment. "Um actually, I'm kinda starving. Are there any good places to eat near by?" She asked. 

He looked at her with a puzzled look on his face. "Aren't you from here? I mean I'm guessing it's probably been a while since you've lived here, but I didn't think anyone could forget Pop's." 

"Well, I kinda meant, something other then Pop's." Betty stated. "Maybe something within walking distance." 

"Transportation! I didn't even think of that." Jughead said, reaching into his pockets."Here you can just take my car over to Pop's. I usually ride my bike anyway, I just figured you might not be to keen on hoping on the back of my Harley the first time we meet." He said with a sly smirk on his face. 

Suddenly Betty wanted nothing more then to do just that, hop on the back of his bike with her hands wrapped around his wait and... She needed to stop. She shook her head slightly to reign in her thoughts. 

"Thank you, seriously. And I probably will need to borrow it at some point, but I'd just really prefer not to go to Pop's at all." She loved pops. She basically lived on his vanilla milkshakes in high school but Pop's was too close to her childhood home for comfort. 

Jughead eyed her for a moment. "Ive never met anyone who didn't like Pop's, but um, yea, Southside diner is okay I guess. It's just a 10 minute walk from here..." He paused, looking her up and down and for a second Betty thought he was checking her out and her cheeks flushed. "But I'd feel better if you drove. Safer that way." 

Betty was about to protest when he picked up her hand and placed his keys in them. Again she was struck by the way his touch felt on her skin. "Okay." Was all she was able to get out. 

With that he made a quick exit and Betty was left standing in the middle of her temporary apartment, still feeling her skin buzz where he had touched her. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is probably my favorite fic that I've written so far! I'm gonna be changing the rating from Mature to Explicit and adding some TW. I should have thought about that before hand, I was just so excited to write it! Also I'll be writing from Jughea'd POV at some point, just not sure when just yet. Hope you guys are enjoying this fic!


	3. Chapter 3

Southside Diner was basically a hole in the wall, especially when compared to Pop's. Betty had decided to take her food to go, wanting to eat it back at her temporary home while she unpacked and such. 

She had just gotten her burger on a plate when her phone buzzed. It was Veronica on FaceTime. 

"Hey V." She said, answering it. It was Veronica _and_  Archie. 

"Hey Betty... Hey B." They said at the same time. "You settling in okay? What's it like being back? What's Jughead like?" Veronica grilled her at lightning speed. 

"I'm settled in fine. Its, odd. He's.... good." She said, before taking a bite of her burger, immediately regretting it. This was nothing like Pop's.

"Pop's burgers no good anymore?" Archie asked, noticing the look on her face. 

"Not from Pop's. Didn't think I should risk running into... you know." She said, swallowing and taking another bite. It might not have been the best burger, but she was starving. "Anyway. Archie, care to explain why Jughead remembers me as the Betty Cooper you used to spy on?" She teasingly asked. 

Even through the phone she could see Archie's face turn bright red. One of the many curses of being a red head was the inability to hide any kind of embarrassment or shame. 

"I.. uh.. we..." He stuttered out. 

"Oh my god Archiekins, are you telling me you used to be a peeping tom?!" Veronica laughed, wacking him on the arm. 

"Oh hey, it wasn't just me! Jughead was just a curious and they were his binoculars!" Archie defended. 

Now it was Betty's turn to flush pink. Jughead had made it seem like he only vaguely remembered her, but now she knew the truth. 

"Oh my god!" She said said, lowing her head into her palms. 

"Sorry Betty. What can I say we were horny teenage boys and you were... there." Archie said shrugging his shoulders. 

"Oh wow, don't I feel wanted." She teased and Veronica laughed.

"I'm going to leave you two alone while I go a burry my head in the sand. See ya Cooper." Archie said before disappearing out of frame. 

"Betty Cooper, are you attracted to this Jughead Jones?" Veronica said as soon as Archie was out of ear shot. 

Betty's face flushed again, and she swore by the time this day was over her cheeks would be this permanent shade of pink. 

"No!" She lied. 

"B, I have known you for what, like 7 or 8 years. I remember the way you went all heart eyes at even the mention of one Mr Archie Andrews when we first met. I do believe I just saw that very same look on your face at the mention of Jughead Jones... Yup, there it is." Veronica laughed out loud. 

Before Veronica had moved to Riverdale when they were 15, Betty had always imagined her and Archie would end up together. He had been her next door neighbor since she was 10 years old, and even though they had never even held hands, she was sure they were perfect for each other. Of course, after a game of spin the bottle at Cheryle Blossoms when they were Juniors in high school, and they were forced to kiss, she was hit with the very real fact that they had zero chemistry. Shortly after that Veronica and Archie fell in love and have been together ever since. 

"I'm going to hang up now." Betty said flatly to Veronica. 

"Fine, fine. Just remember your bestie knows all. Also, Archie and I talked annnndddd, well we decided were'e gonna come visit you!" 

"Visit me here, in Riverdale?" Betty's heart raced. "But if you guys stay at Archies's dad's, my mom will see you and... " 

"Calm down Betty! We already thought about that. There's a hotel in Greendale about 20 minutes form the Whyte Whyrm. We'll stay there! It'll be like a little romantic getaway for us. Plus Archie would love to see his dad. Outside of Riverdale of course." Veronica said, cutting her off. 

Betty felt a twinge of guilt. It wasn't fair that her friends couldn't just come home without worrying about her. "I'm sorry Veronica. It shouldn't be so difficult for you guys." 

"Don't be B. You know we love you and just want you to be safe. We've been meaning to come see you for like forever and now we have no excuse. Plus Archie gets to see his dad, so it's a win win! Anyway, I've gotta run. Late to pilates class! See you soon B!" 

"Bye V!" Betty said as the screen went black. 

The idea of seeing Veronica and Archie made her heart warm. She missed them so much. The decision to leave Columbia and move to Rocklind for the magazine had been an easy one, but leaving them behind was the hardest thing she'd ever done. They were her rocks through out high school, when her mom's abuse was at it's worse. They were the only reason she even left Riverdale in the first place. She couldn't wait to see them.

* * *

After spending a few hours unpacking and becoming aquatinted with her temporary living situation Betty found herself bored. It was about 7:00pm, and since it was a Friday night, she figured the bar would probably be pretty packed. She got dressed in black skinny jeans, and a grey lose fitting sweater. She didn't want to stand out to much, but she also wanted to be comfortable. Grabbing her camera, she headed down to the bar. 

The place was packed, just as she suspected. There were two girls on the small stage with a pole, a small live band at the other stage playing some funky tune she had never heard, and nearly every table was filled. She potted a few empty seats at the bar and decided to grab them before they fill up. 

"Hey news lady." Toni said to her, over the loud music. 

"News lady?" Betty questioned, with a smile. 

"Well isn't that what you do, report news?" 

"I'm offended! No, no. I'm a photo journalist. I take photos of real people doing real things and find the story behind it. Like you for example." Betty said as she raised her camera to her right eye and snapped a quick photo of Toni pouring a drink. "See?" She said again, turning the camera around so Toni could see the picture of herself. 

"Hey I look good! Not to bad news lady!" Toni said. Betty laughed and rolled her eyes. 

"Betty is an incredible photographer." Jughead said, appearing from what seemed to be out of nowhere. Betty's breath hitched and she found herself flushing pink at his comment. 

"You've seen my work?" She questioned. 

"Maybe." He smirked. 

"I hear you've seen other parts of me as well." Betty said, trying to fake confidence. "Archie tells me it was your binoculars that were used to spy on me. Care to explain?" 

Betty watched as Jughead's eyes nearly popped out of his skull and his cheeks flushed bright red. She felt oddly satisfied that it was his turn to feel embarrassed. 

"'m going to kill him." He said, burying his head in his hands. 

"So its true!" 

He lifted his head, looking down at her through hooded eyes. "What can I say, it was a good show." He said with a wink. 

"I bet it was." She simply stated. 

They stared at each other for a moment, both with a sly smirk on their face. They were flirting and Betty couldn't' bring herself to care how unprofessional it was. Without thinking, she brought her camera up to her eye and snapped his picture, breaking the tension and causing him to laugh. 

"Not that this isn't awfully fun to watch, the gross flirting and all but, I've got a job to do. Can I get you something to drink Betty?" Toni said, bringing Betty back to earth. 

"Ah, um yea. Tequilla sunrise!" She said. 

"Coming right up." Toni went about grabbing the different bottles necessary to make the drink. Betty snapped a few pictures while she did so, wanting a distraction from the gorgeous being sitting next to her. "Here ya go news lady." Toni said, handing her a drink, and handing Jughead a beer he hadn't ordered but took without question. 

Betty took a few sips of her drink and then spun around in her chair, looking out at the patrons sitting at the tables watching the two girls on stage. This part of the bar was a bit dark, with colored lights and small lamps, to probably set a more sexy mood. She looked around at the other parts of the bar, noticing how it was almost naturally sectioned off. This really was an awesome bar. 

Looking over her shoulder, she watched as Toni poured more drinks. Noticing her Serpent leather jacket again, she thought of a question to ask Jughead. 

"Is Toni a member of your gang?" She asked, suddenly thinking perhaps she should have used the word club instead. 

"Yup. Her father was a Serpent and about five years ago she became one." He answered easily. Betty had been caught up on the word was. 

"Was a Serpent?" 

"Yes ma'am." He simply said, not offering any more information. Betty could have pressed him, but she was going to be here for at least a month. There was no need to to ask every question in one night. She would need to build up trust with him and the rest of the Serpents before she could ask more probing questions. For now she figured she'd stick to the basics. 

"How many members do you have?" She had noticed that while there were a lot of leather clad bikers scattered throughout out the bar, only a handful of them wore the Serpent logo. 

"About 100." He said, causing Betty to turn her head quickly to look at him. There was no way there were 100 Serpents in here. "They aren't all here all the time, they do have lives ya know." He added in a teasing tone, almost reading her mind. 

"Obviously. Its just, that's a large number." 

"Not really. Not when compared to gangs like Hells Angels, or the Breed out in Philly. Their numbers range into the thousands. Although they are scattered out pretty much everywhere. The Serpents stay local." He explained. 

Betty had heard of both of the gangs he mentioned. In her efforts to learn more about gang life in general, Hells Angels and the Breed had come up a few times. Their crimes were far worse then anything the Serpents had been blamed for, though. Another name had come up in her research as well. 

"What about the Ghoulies?" She asked. She knew they were a somewhat new gang, but they were also local. 

Jughead's eyes turned dark. The expression on his face was unmistakable. "They are scum." 

"I meant size wise." She could tell she was on to something but also didn't want to press him too much. 

His expression softened a bit. "They're about the same size as us I guess you could say. It's hard to tell with them. They dress like fox's and often don't wear any logo's when dealing in illegal activities, if you know what I mean." 

Betty did know what he meant. In the e-mail her boss had forwarded her from Jughead, he had explained that the Ghoulies were responsible for a lot of the crime in both the Southside and the Northside, but it was hard to pin it on them though because they easily blended in. 

"Make no mistake though, they are a nasty crew." He said suddenly. He was looking straight ahead at the dancers on stage and Betty was momentarily distracted by an emotion she was not used to. Jealousy. Hoping he would follow, she decided to turn her chair back around to the bar, thankfully he did the same. 

"So Betts, I take it you still talk to Andrews?" Jughead asked her, his mood shifting drastically. The question caught her off guard. "You two an item?" 

Betty choked on the sip of her drink she had been taking. "Um, sorry. No, not not at all. He's been happily attached at the hip to my best friend Veronica Lodge since like Junior year of high school." She explained. 

Jughead seemed to almost be holding back a smile and Betty guessed he was trying not to laugh at her choking on her drink. "Shouldn't you know that though? Don't you guys keep in contact or something?" 

"We do. Actually I think he may have mentioned a Veronica before but I forgot." He said taking a swig of his beer. Betty watch as his Adams apple bobbed up and down and she couldn't help think how sexy he is. "So what does your boyfriend think of you coming here for a month?" 

Yet again she choked on her drink. This time he laughed. How did he manage to keep doing that? "Okay next time can you wait until after I swallow." She giggled. "I don't have a boyfriend, if that's what you're trying to ask without really asking." 

She watched his face flush, and she knew she was right. "Just trying to get to know you Cooper." 

"Well if I'm not mistaken, it's technically _my_  job to get to know  _you_ , am I right?" Truthfully, Betty wasn't that bothered by his personal questions. She knew if she wanted to get close to him, and the gang, it would mean that she had to give up little parts of her story as well. She was used to this and even expected it. She had just not been prepared for him to ask her those specific questions this early on.

"Ah yes, you are correct." He admitted, taking another swig of his beer. "Before you ask though, no I don't have a girlfriend." 

For the third time Betty choked on her drink. He was full on laughing at her now and she couldn't help but join in. 

After a moment Jughead stood up. "I'll see you around Betts." He said simply, before walking toward the front door of the bar. Betty simply nodded, knowing he wouldn't hear her if she tried to say bye. 

For the rest of the night Betty mostly watched and wondered around the bar taking photos. There was definitely a story here, and she was itching to find out more. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys are enjoying this! It's a bit of a slow burn, but don't worry, it will get there! Gonna try to do at least a chapter a day!


	4. Chapter 4

It had been 4 days since he picked Betty Cooper up from the train station and brought her back to the Whyte Whyrm, where she would be living for the next month. Everyday since then he had watched her linger around the bar taking photos of the patrons, the staff, the Serpents, and sometimes even him, when she thought he wasn't looking. She had started asking pretty innocent questions, which he appreciated. He knew when he signed the Serpents up for this he was going to have to give away some of their secrets, but he was glad she had seemed to be trying to get to know everyone first. She really was as good at her job as all the research he had done on her told him. 

From the moment he had read the name Betty Cooper in the e-mail from Janet he knew who she was. How could forget the small package of literal sunshine Archie Andrews had introduced him too when they were 10 years old? Not to mention the many nights he and Archie had sat at Archie's window with the lights turned off, looking across the way just hoping to catch a glimpse of something. He shook his head at the memory, thankful that they indeed had not ever seen anything, especially now when he could hardly take his eyes off of her. 

He couldn't deny he had been stricken by her beauty the moment she stepped off the train. The staff photos from the magazine publication she worked at didn't do her any justice. They didn't capture the light behind her eyes or the way her pouty lips turned downward when she was trying to stifle a smile. He had already planned to play dumb about remembering who she was, almost assuming that Betty wouldn't remember him, having been so long ago and only meeting once or twice. He was pleasantly surprised when she did indeed remember who he was. He smiled at the thought. 

It was Tuesday afternoon, one of their slowest days of the week. Looking around the bar he frowned. Betty would be here for a month and in that time he had to show her that the Serpents were more then what all the news papers in Riverdale said they were. He had worked his ass off the last 5 years, since his fathers arrest, trying to take this gang in a more legitimate direction and he was finally there. The Serpents didn't deal in anything illegal that didn't help the community. 

"Hey Jug, do you mind if I borrow your car?" Just then the sweetest voice broke through his thoughts. It was Betty. She was bouncing down the small staircase wearing shorts, combat boots, and a tank top. Her hair was in it's natural tight pony tail and he almost lost his breath at how effortlessly beautiful she was. 

"Betts, how many times do I have to tell you, you don't have to ask. It's yours while you live here." He answered. Everyday she had bound down the stairs in the same way, around the same time, and asked him the same thing. 

"I know, but still." She replied making her way toward the door. 

"Where you headed off to anyway?" He had stopped himself from asking the last few days, knowing it really wasn't any of his business. But today, seeing her look so radiant, he had to know.

"Southside Diner." 

He couldn't help the disgusted look that spread across his face. "What?!" She laughed. 

"I will never understand how someone could prefer Southside Diner over Pop Tate's." He replied shaking his head. She may be beautiful, smart, and so many other amazing things, but this he just couldn't understand. Pop's burger were world famous in his eyes. 

"Okay, first of all. I don't prefer Southside Diner over Pop's, I'd have to be half dead to ever think they even held a candle to Pop's. Second, I would love a burger from Pop's but..." She trailed off. He couldn't quite read the expression on her face, but he knew he didn't like it. 

"But what?" He asked, hoping she would feel comfortable enough to answer. 

"But it's not worth the risk of... of running into my mother." Her tone had a sense of finality in it and he knew instantly better then to push any further. Instead, he had a different idea. 

"Well, what if I drove you. I could run in and get the order to go. My windows are tinted so as long as you don't get out of the car, theres no chance of you running into anyone you don't want to run into. Besides, I go to Pop's so often I have a running tab." He smirked. 

The smile that spread across her face was enough to warm even the coldest of hearts. He couldn't help but smile back. 

"You'd really do that for me?" She asked softly. 

"Sure." He replied looking at the time on his phone. "Besides, it's already a little past my feeding time and I'm famished." 

She stared at him for a moment before heading to the door again. "Well what are you waiting for Jones, lets go!" She called out as she threw the keys over her shoulder. He was so distracted by her beauty he fumbled and failed to stop the keys from hitting the ground. 

As he bent down to pick them up he chose to ignore the small giggles coming from the pink haired Serpent behind the bar. 

* * *

 

On his bike, the ride to Pop's would be maybe 10 minutes, however, in his tiny sedan, with Betty in the passenger seat he chose to take the long way driving the speed limit the whole time which put the ride at about 25 minutes. 

"So how long have you been a Serpent?" Betty's question took him by surprise as he was lost in his own reverie. 

"Since I was 16." He answered simply. He gripped the steering wheel a bit tighter preparing himself for whatever questions Betty was about to ask. He hadn't considered the fact that she may take this opportunity, being in such close proximity, for an interview. In fact he had to remind himself that probably all of their conversations were basically interviews, as she was here to do a job, not getting to know him for fun. 

"You allow girls in your gang?" This question really took him by surprise, and he shot her a somewhat puzzled look. 

"Yea, we do. POC and LGBTQ people as well." He replied. He didn't see how this mattered much, but was curious as to where she was going with it. 

"You have to know how, unusual that is. I mean most biker gangs seem to be composed of mostly Aryan Race worshipping skin heads who would gladly marry their cousin if it was legal." 

Jugead snorted. He didn't know if he should take that as a compliment or if he should be offended. "I've never heard it put quite like that, but yea. It's different. But we're different." 

"I'm starting to learn that. Have you guys always been legit?" She didn't miss a beat. 

"No, not exactly." He offered. If she wanted to the dirty details she was going to have to dig.

"It's interesting actually. While the Serpents have seemed to be blamed for any and all crimes that happen in Riverdale proper and the Southside, theres never seemed to be any actual proof. Not to mention, petty theft, breaking and entering, and public nudity aren't exactly the arrest record you think you'd find for someone who is the leader of a biker gang." She said with a knowing smirk on her face. 

"You Googled me?" He was surprised, but not sure why. Obviously she was going to do some research before taking a job. 

"No offense, but I was going to be coming to basically live with you and your Serpents for a whole month. I wanted to make sure I wasn't getting myself into something dangerous." 

"Fair enough." He shot her a side ways glance and warmed at the smile on her face. 

The sat in comfortable silence for the next few minutes while A Day To Remember's All Signs Point To Lauderdale played softly in the background. He noted Betty drumming along to the beat with her fingers on her thigh. He was momentarily distracted by thoughts of how smooth the skin on her thigh must have felt. 

"Jughead, watch out!" Betty yelled, snapping his attention back to the road. He had unknowingly swerved into the other lane a bit. 

"Sorry! I was distracted." He apologized, feeling his face flush with embarrassment. 

Betty laughed softly. 

"So." She paused, "Public nudity?" 

They had pulled into a parking spot at Pop's. 

"That's a story for another time." He smirked, stepping out of the car, and turning around before he closed the door. "Burger, fries, and let me guess, and vanilla shake?" He asked. 

She smiled, "Perfect." 

* * *

 

Back at the Whyte Whyrm Jughead had invited Betty into his place to eat. He would have just stayed at the bar but some old guy had decided to take advantage of the small group sitting at the tables in front of the stage and was up drunkenly singing Careless Whisper on karaoke. 

"Wow. This place is huge!" Betty said, looking around his apartment. 

"It's not much bigger then you're apartment really. I mean it had a small dinning room and a second bedroom, but still." He replied. 

"No, I mean the bar in general. The whole building is huge. There's a third floor isn't there? And a basement." She explained. 

"Third floor is more of an attic we use for storage. Basement is mostly a utility closet." 

"Mostly?" She questioned. He knew what she was hinting at, but that wasn't a secret he was ready to give away just yet. 

"Yup." He said with finality. 

While he went to the kitchen to grab plates Betty wondered around the apartment checking things out. He was trying his hardest not to just stand there and stare at her. 

"So you have a second room. Roommate? Office?" 

"Little sister actually. Of course, she's down the shore with a friend for the summer and when school starts she'll be off to NYU." He answered, feeling his heart involuntary swell with pride. 

"NYU?! That's awesome. You must be really proud!" Betty said with excitement. 

"I am I am. Also nervous, and worried, and anxious and all those other feelings I guess parent's feel." He laughed. 

"That's understandable. What about you though?" She asked.

"What about me?" 

"Did you go to college at all?" 

"Community. I dropped out after a year though." He said as he place the plates with their food on the dinning room table, gesturing for her to sit down, and watching as she did so. 

"Because of running the gang?" 

"No. Because I was bored." He answered quickly. "Why did you drop out of Columbia after only 2 years?" He asked her before realizing he would only know that information if he had indeed googled her. 

"You googled  _me?_ " She asked with a smirk on her face. 

"Of course. I wasn't going to just let some stranger come live with me." He replied, echoing her words from earlier. 

"Good point." She replied, taking a bite of her burger and swallowing it before continuing. "I dropped out because I got the job offer at Small Town Mag. It was basically what I was working toward in school, and if I could save myself a couple hundred thousand in student loans, I seemed like the right choice." 

"Was it the right choice?" He asked. 

"Absolutely. Second best decision of my life." 

"What was the first?" He asked, hoping he wasn't pushing to much. 

"Leaving Riverdale 5 years ago." She answered simply. 

He made a point to keep the conversation light for the rest of the meal, and she didn't seem to mind. He knew she was here to interview him but he himself had so many more questions for her. Why did she leave Riverdale? Why didn't she want to run into her mom? Why was she single? Admittedly that last question was probably too personal.

After they finished eating Jughead took the plates into the kitchen and cleaned up while Betty once again seemed to roam about the apartment nonchalantly. He couldn't help but smile at the sight of her here, in his home.

"You have a balcony?" Her heard her call as she opened the sliding doors. He laughed. "God this view is..."

"Beautiful." He finished her sentence as he stepped out onto the balcony with her.

The Whyte Whyrm was situated on the edge of a hill, with almost nothing for a back yard. However, this meant his balcony looked out over all the trees next to the highway giving a perfect view of the distant New York City skyline. It was close, and you probably couldn't' make what building was what, but when the sun set and rose it was a sight to be seen. He had spent many, many night and mornings out on this balcony writing, or listening to music, or just doing nothing. His fellow Serpents seemed to know that when he was out here, he was not to be bothered unless it was an emergency, and he liked that.

He looked over at Betty as she leaned over the railing, turning her face up to the warm afternoon sun, letting the hot summer breeze blow softly on her skin. He let out a breath he wasn't aware that he was holding. She looked stunning. The way the shone on her face, giving it a soft glow was enough to make his heart stop beating right then and there. For a moment, he thought he might have been dreaming, standing here staring at a person so beautiful. It was until Betty turned to meet his gaze that he was brought back to reality.

"What?" She asked him, apparently noticing the way he was staring at her.

"N-nothing. Sorry." He laughed, before taking a seat in one of the lounge chairs. Betty sat in the empty, leaving only a small side table between them.

"So you were what, 18 when you took over for your dad?" She asked, seemingly out of the blue. The question reminded him again that hanging out with Betty, as enjoyable as it was, wasn't just hanging out.

"Yup. About the same age you were when you left Riverdale I'm guessing."

"Wow, you can math." Betty teased and he couldn't help but laugh. "Did you always plan on leading the Serpents?"

"Did you always plan on leaving RIverdale?" He knew he should just answer he questions, that's why he had invited her magazine her in the first place, but he couldn't help it. If she was going to have to get to know him, he was going to have to get to know her just as well. 

He watched as Betty turned her face away from him, back toward the sun. "It was always a dream, if that's what you mean. Though I never thought it would actually happen." 

"No. I never planned on leading the Serpents." He replied. 

"What made you do it then?" She asked, not looking at him. 

"I don't know if I really had a choice. The Serpents are my family, well more of a family then my actual family. They took care of me and my sister Jellybean when my mom took off and my dad was too drunk to even remember he had kids. To be honest, I had probably been leading them in some way since I had joined. When dad got arrested, and it was clear he was going to be doing some hard time, it felt like I almost had a duty. They had taken care of me, so I had to take care of them." He hadn't meant to tell her all of that, but once he got going it was her to stop. He wasn't sure if that was because of Betty herself and how comfortable he was with her, or if it was because of how good she was at her job. 

"And you have. You have 5 members who got college acceptance letters this year, at least 10 that graduated from high school, and quite a few members with families who are now fully supported with work through the club." She simply stated. 

"You learned all of that is just 4 days?" He couldn't believe it. Initially he really thought this would be difficult job for her. He had sat down with all the Serpents, some one on one, and also as a group, and explained who she was and why she was coming. Most of them seemed okay with the idea of Betty doing a story on them but there was still a good amount that didn't think it was a smart idea. 

"I'm good at what I do Juggie." She smiled and his heart skipped a whole beat. He could watch her lips form the nickname Juggie for the rest of his life and be completely content. 

Just then his phone rang, pulling him out of his thoughts. 

"Sorry, I gotta get this." He said in her direction as he answered. "Hey sweets whats up?" 

"Hey Jug we got a job down here at the shelter. Girls in pretty bad shape." Sweetpea, a fellow Serpent, said over the phone. 

Jugehad felt his fit tighten. "I'm on my way." He hung up the phone and looked at Betty. 

"Well Coop, you better go grab your camera. We've got a job and if you want to know the real story, this is gonna be part of it." He said as he walked through the doors back into his apartment, her following closely behind him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m sorry if there’s any spelling or grammar errors, I kinda had to rush through this chapter. Also, yes it’s mostly dialogue, but I hope you still enjoy it! Keep commenting, I love hearing your thoughts!!!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING: Domestic violence, mention of rape. 
> 
> This is your warning! 
> 
> With that said, I really hope you guys like this chapter. Again, it's a lot of dialogue but I promise the next chapter will be much more inner thoughts! 
> 
> Please leave a comment and again if you want to follow me on Tumblr you can do so at bettyj0nes!

Betty quickly scrambled into her apartment to grab her camera, deciding at the last minute to change into a pair of jeans and throw on a sip up hoodie, as she knew the summer nights could get chilly. She had no idea what was happening or where they were going but Jughead had said if she wanted to know the real story, this would be it. As she bound out the door, in the direction of Jughead's car, she heard him call to her from the other direction. 

"Over here Betts." He was sitting astride his, helmet in hand, Serpent leather on his shoulders, looking about as sexy as possible bathed in the golden hour sunlight. She was momentarily stuck, unable to move, as she took it all in. "Hop on." He said after a moment, breaking through her thoughts and yanking her back to reality. 

"I'm not getting on that thing. How about I just follow you in the car?" She asked. 

"You won't be able to keep up. Come on Betts, now or never." He replied smoothly. 

It really only took her a minute to think about it. She wanted the story, and this was the only way she could get. She slung her left arm through the strap of her camera so it was positioned across her body, instead of around her neck, before taking out her pony tail and sliding the helmet onto her head. As she climbed onto the bike, she used his shoulders for leverage and couldn't help but notice how broad and strong they felt under her hands. Once on, she hesitantly put her hands on his hips, guessing she was going to need to hold on. He moved them, wrapping her arms more tightly around his waste. 

"You're going to have to hold on tight for this ride." He said over his shoulders, before starting the bike. 

The loudness made her jump a bit but Jughead didn't seem to notice. As he pulled out onto the road she realized they were being followed by other Serpents. Turning her head she could only see maybe 2 bikes, but she guessed there were probably more. She turned her head back around to face forward. Betty had never been on a motorcycle, in fact she never thought she would be, but now she was counting her lucky stars that this was an experience she didn't have to miss out on. The way to cool summer evening air whipped across her face was invigorating. That mixed with the electricity pulsating from where her arms and chest touched Jughead made her feel almost intoxicated. Just as she was starting to think she never wanted this ride to end, they pulled into a parking lot. 

The building had a dull neon sign that read Southside Women's Shelter. After Jughead stepped off the bike he took Betty's hand helping her off, before removing her helmet for her. 

"Listen, you're just here to observe and maybe take a photo or two, is that clear?" He said in a stern tone she had not yet heard from him. 

"Yes sir." She replied quickly, noting the devilish smirk he sent her way. 

Betty followed closely behind Jughead as they walked through the automatic doors of the women's shelter. He was flanked by 3other Serpents who followed him inside and about 4 who waited outside by the bikes. They walked down a short hallway before meeting up with another Serpent, whom she knew to be Sweetpea. 

"Sweets, what happened? Where is she?" Jughead asked. 

"She won't talk to me at all, but Shelly basically said the girls husband beat her up real bad and may have even... raped her." Sweetpea paused, rubbing the back of his neck, looking uncomfortable even saying the word. "She's gone to the cops before apparently and they did nothing." He finished. 

Betty watched as Jughead's jaw tightened and his fists clenched. "Where's Shelly now? With the girl?" 

"Yea, second door on the right down the hall." Sweetpea explained. 

"You boys stay here. Betty you can follow me." 

Betty did just that, following as closely as she could, while she turned around and snapped a quick pic of the Serpents standing in the hallway. Once they entered the room Betty had to stifle a gasp at the site of the girl sitting in front of her. Her face was a mosaic of black and blue. Her left eye was nearly swollen shut and she had a gash that was actively bleeding under the other. Both lips were busted, and as Betty's eyes traveled lower, she could see hand and finger shaped bruises along the girls neck. Her stomach turned at the sight of the damage that had been done to this girls body. 

"Hello Forsythe. Thank you for coming so quickly." An elderly woman with blonde hair greeted Jughead, using his first name, with a warm hug. Betty guessed that this woman was Shelly. 

"No problem Shelly. You know all it takes is a phone call." He said as they embraced. "Can you tell me what happened?" 

"This is Megan. What you see was done by her husband. She went to the police station yesterday to get a restraining order, and they basically laughed in her face. She has no one here. No family, no friends." Shelly spoke softly, laying a hand on Jughead's arm. 

Jughead bent down to Megan's level. He went to place a hand on her knee, but she flinched and moved away from, so he dropped it. "All I need is his name and where he is right now Megan. No other questions. Nothing else." He spoke directly to her, in a tone that was so soft and reassuring that Betty almost didn't recognize him. The girl didn't answer him though. 

She sat there frozen, almost shivering, with wide eyes. "Megan this may be your only way out. Tell this man your husbands name and leave the rest up to us." Shelly encouraged. Still the girl said nothing. 

Betty watched as neither Shelly nor Jughead were able to get the girl to open up. Without thinking really, Betty took of her jacket and offered to the girl. Megan took it without hesitation, and Betty took that opportunity to sit down next to her on the small hospital like bed. Noticing Megan wincing as she tried to put the jacket on, Betty reached her arm around and helped her. Letting her arms linger around the girl in a comforting way. 

"Megan I don't know you. I can't presume to understand the things you are feeling right now. What I do know is that the lovely woman and this scary looking biker dude want to help you. They want to keep you safe so that he can't even get to you and do this again. You deserve that Megan." Betty didn't know where the words came from or what had prompted her to say them, but she felt Megan relax in her arms and knew she had done the right thing. 

"His name is John Hencing. Right now he's probably at our home, looking for me." Megan finally spoke.  

* * *

 

After the girl had given Jughead the address he had told Betty he'd be back within the hour. She assured him there was no reason to rush as she was perfectly fine to stay right here next to Megan, to which he gave her an adoring look she couldn't quite understand. 

It was about an hour later when Jughead had returned, without the other Serpents in tow. Betty was sitting in the cold waiting area of the front lobby. She had helped Megan get settled in a room, giving her her phone number in case she needed anything. She had even snapped a few pictures of Megan, after making sure it was okay, explaining that it would be good for legal purposes. She had no intention of using the photo's in whatever the story about the Serpents came out to me, but she wanted to make sure the damage her husband had done to her body was well documented. 

"Hey there." Jughead said as he walked in, taking a seat next to Betty. "Sorry I took so long." 

"No need to be sorry at all, I'm glad I was here to help." She replied sweetly. 

"You were really great with her. I'm not sure she would have opened up if you hadn't been here." He said, looking down at her through hooded eyes and he got up to lead her out the door. 

Betty felt her eyes start to tear up and she wasn't sure why. She blinked quickly so he wouldn't notice. "I just offered her my jacket is all." She following him toward the exit. 

Jughead stared at her for a moment once they got to the bike, before taking off his leather jacket and handing it to her. "Here. It'll be a cold ride without one."  

She was confused at first, then realized she had left her own jacket with Megan. "I'll be fine, really. You don't have to..." She started, but he cut her off by placing the leather on her shoulders. She slipper her arms in quickly, reveling in the warmth that lingered from Jughead's body. "Thank you." She replied softly. 

The drive back to the Whyte Whym was short, and Betty found herself wishing they had taken a longer way. Her mind kept flashing back to the way Megan's face and neck looked, the way she winced when putting on Betty's jacket, probably from a broken rib. How could the police see this and not do anything? She was suddenly reminded of a time in high school, when she had confessed to a teacher about the abuse from her mom, and the teacher did nothing. She quickly realized that you can't always count on the people who were supposed to protect you. 

"What do you say Betty, wanna have a drink with me on the balcony?" Jughead asked as he helped her off his bike again. Betty's stomach did a backflip. 

"I think that sounds like a damn good plan Juggy." And she did. She knew after a night like this, there was no way she was going to sleep, so maybe some alcohol would help calm her nerves. 

Betty followed Jughead inside to the bar. Toni was tending, as aways Betty thought to herself, and came right over when she saw them. 

"Hey gorgeous, having a good ride on the back of that Harley?" Toni asked, with a wink in Betty's direction. She felt her face flush. 

"Don't tease Blondie Toni, it's not nice." Sweetpea said from the other side of the bar, smiling in Betty's direction. She had only been here for 4 days but she was already starting to feel comfortable with Serpents. 

"Thank you Sweetpea, my knight in shining leather." Betty said back to him with a wink. Jughead shot her a look before turning and shooting the Sweetpea the same look. Sweetpea rolled his eyes and got up to head over to the small stripper stage. 

"Jack and coke for me Toni and for Betty..." 

"I'll take the same." Betty said cutting him off. She was going to need something stronger then her usual Tequilla Sunrise. 

Toni made their drinks quickly, and after talking to a few older Serpents whose names she still didn't know, Jughead lead her up to his apartment. She hadn't realized she was still wearing his leather jacket until he moved to take it from her shoulders. 

"Oh sorry. Forgot I was wearing that." She laughed. 

They headed out to the balcony and Betty was struck at the beautiful view of the distant New York city skyline yet again. Its had been amazing to see in the day, with the sun hovering just above, but now, at night with all the lights, it was mesmerizing. Placing her drink on the small table, she leaned over the railing a little, closing her eyes and breathing in the cool air, letting it fill her lungs in a cleansing way. She hadn't realized Jughead had been staring at her until she turned to taker her seat. 

"What?" She questioned. 

"Nothing." He said, shaking his head. 

They sat in a comfortable silence for a while. Betty couldn't stop her thoughts from traveling back to Megan. She didn't know what she expected when Jughead got that call earlier, but it certainly wasn't this. So many questions were swimming around in her head that she had trouble focusing on which she wanted to ask first, or if she felt like it was the right time at all. Before she could say anything, Jughead broke the silence. 

"I know you want to ask." He said flatly, not looking in her direction. 

"You know I want to ask what?" 

"Ask what it was that we did to her husband." He replied, still not looking in her direction. 

He wasn't wrong. It was one of the many questions she wanted to ask, just maybe not in that way. 

"I'm not as curious about what it is that you did to her husband as I am about how it's going to keep her safe from him." She replied. 

He looked at her then. Looked right into her eyes and for a moment Betty was lost in his icey blues. It was almost as if he was searching her face for something, but she didn't know what. 

Suddenly he looked back to the skyline, taking a large sip of his drink, and leaning forward resting his forearms on his knees, he began to explain. "What we did tonight was just one for the many ways we help the community. About two years ago Shelly, the older woman who works at the shelter, had walked into the bar looking for FP, my dad. When I told her that he was incarcerated she explained that a few years back he had taken care of a problem she was having with a girls boyfriend, and wanted to know if I would be willing to help her in the same way. I said yes without any question."

He paused for a moment, to take another sip of his drink. Betty didn't say anything, not wanting to interrupt his free flowing of information. 

"Basically she had a girl that had been to her shelter a dozen times over but kept going back to the bastard that landed her there. He was manipulating her. Like Megan, she had tried going to the police but like usual they were absolutely no help. So me, and a few of my fellow Serpents paid him a visit. We roughed him up a bit and told him they if he ever went near the girl again, we'd break the rest of his fingers and that if he went back after that, we'd kill him." He paused again, this time to look over to Betty. She did her best to keep her facial features as neutral as possible as she took a sip of her drink, not wanting to give away any of the emotions she was currently feeling. 

"Well he stayed away. The girl was able to leave town, get a job, and now she's happily married with a _good_ guy. After that night I gave Shelly the number to get in touch with us and told her to contact us whenever problems like this arise. And she does." 

Betty stared at him for a moment, taking in everything he had said. "Do these men ever try to press chargers on you guys?" She asked hesitantly. 

"None so far. I think they are smarter than that. We make it known who we are, it adds to the scare factor." He replied, with a bit of a smirk. 

"How many times have you had to do this in the last two years?" 

"Way too many." His tone was sad. 

She leaned over the small table between them and placed a hand on his arm. He looked up her, his face only inches from hers. "That's a lot of lives you've saved Jughead. A lot women you've saved. I think that's amazing, absolutely amazing." Before she even knew what she was doing, she leaned in and placed a soft kiss on his lips. He leaned into the kiss for just a moment before quickly pulling away. 

Betty felt her face go pale at the realization of what she had just done, and the fact that he clearly didn't want her to do that. "Oh my god. I'm... I'm so sorry.. I don't know what..." She was rambling as she headed toward the door. "I should go, I'm so sorry." She said as she nearly sprinted through his apartment. 

She only vaguely heard him call her name as she exited his apartment and shut the door behind her. "Fuck!" She whispered to herself. 

 


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING: somewhat graphic depictions of child abuse   
> You have been warned! 
> 
> Guys, this is the longest chapter yet! I just couldn't end it! In this chapter I switch between perspectives a few times, I hop that's okay! 
> 
> I really hope you guys like this chapter!

Jughead had been lying in the middle of his bed staring up at his ceiling fan for what felt like forever. Realistically, having looked at the time on his phone just about every 10 minutes since he laid down he knew it had really only been two hours. He also knew, it would be many more before he would be able to fall asleep, unable to stop his mind from traveling back to thoughts of Betty. 

Closing his eyes he could still feel her soft lips on his. They still seemed to tingle from the short kiss she had planted on him earlier that night on his balcony. _Why did she have to do that_ , he thought to himself. He had been attracted to Betty sine the moment she stepped of that train, hell probably from the first time they met as children. And he wasn't dumb or blind, he saw the way her eyes traveled over his body on more the one occasion, or the way her skin flushed whenever they were close. Subtlety was not one of her strengths, though she had many. He only hoped  _he_ had been more subtle in his attraction to her, however after hearing Toni's giggles earlier that day when he offered to take Betty to Pop's, and seeing the way Sweetpea had rolled his eyes at him after the glare Jughead shot him, he guessed he probably wasn't. 

If he could have it his way, he would have already made a move on Betty. She was gorgeous and smart and funny and something about her made it impossible for him to stop thinking about her. But she was here to do a job and he knew they would never have a chance at anything real. She lived more then 5 hours away if you traveled by car and it was clear moving back to Riverdale was not something she had ever planned on doing. He was reminded of her comment about not wanting to run into her mother at Pop's. What was that about? 

Jughead knew all about parental issues. His mother had ran out on him them when he was 8 years old, his little sister Jellybean only 3 at the time. He hadn't heard form her since and wasn't sure how he would react to running into her. But that didn't see like it was Betty's story. He remembered how Betty's life had seemed when they were kids. Big house, white picket fence, happy family. He had only seen her mom once, when she called from their front porch to tell Betty it was dinner time, but she seemed like the typical Susie Homemaker type mom. What about that would make Betty want to leave Riverdale so bad? 

He checked his phone again, and sighed with the knowledge it had only been five minutes since he had checked it last. After a few more minutes he decided to get up, accepting the fact that he was never going to fall asleep that way. After sliding on a pair of jeans and his boots, he picked up he leather jacket and slid it on. It smelled like vanilla and sunshine, like Betty, and he couldn't help the pitiful sigh that escaped his throat. This was going to be a long night. 

The bar wasn't too packed, but it was busy enough to drown out the noise in his head. He took his usual spot at the bar and Toni brought him a beer. 

"Whats up boss? You look a little blue?" She asked, leaning her forearms on the bar, ready to listen to all his problems. This is what Toni was good at, its why he gave her the bar tending job in the first place. For him, it helped that they had been best friends since they were like four. 

"Nothing. I'm fine." He lied, knowing she would see right though him. 

"Why do you do that? Lie to me when you know in the end you're just going to spill your guts anyway?" 

He laughed because was right. "I don't know. I like making your life more difficult I guess." He said taking a sip of his beer. 

"Let me guess, it has something to do with a certain little blonde girl with a camera permanently attached to her face, doesn't it?" 

He gave her a slight nod as his only reply. 

"I knew that girl was gonna be trouble from the moment she walked into my bar." She replied shaking her head. 

"She's not trouble. I'm the trouble. Or at least the one in trouble." 

"I don't know why. It's clear as day that she has a thing for you. She was practically glowing when she walked in the door behind you earlier wearing your leather." Toni laughed. 

Jughead couldn't help but smile. He remembered how good Betty looked in his leather and how amazing it had felt having her arms wrapped around his waste on the back of his bike. 

"Jeeze you really are taken with the chick huh?" Toni tone was one of genuine surprise. 

"Why do you sound so surprised? It's not like I've never been into a girl before. It's no big deal." He lied, yet again. 

Of course Jughead had been attracted to other girls, and sex was just, well it easy to find someone to have sex with. But he had most definitely never been in love and never been unable to get a girl out of his head before. Most of the girls that were attracted to him were good looking but short lived. Not that it had ever bothered him, the gang and Jellybean had been his primary focus for so long he didn't think he really had room in his life for a relationship anyway. 

"There you go again with the lying." Toni said as she sauntered away to take the order of some other patrons who had just sat down. 

Four beers and about seven really terrible karaoke performances later, it was well after midnight and he figured he'd better give sleep another try. 

"I'm heading up Toni." He said as got up from the bar. 

"Night boss. Hope you dream of sunshine." She said with a wink. 

Jughead rolled his eyes. 

* * *

Betty had been laying in bed for an hour since she woke up. It wasn't like her to be this slow in the morning, but after last night she just wasn't ready to face the day yet. Looking at her phone and sighing she decided it was officially time to get up. 

After pulling on a pair of pajama pants she made her way to the kitchen with a one track mind focused on coffee. As she approached the breakfast bar, she saw a Pop's take out bag with a note next to it. She tentatively pick up the note to read it. 

 _Morning Betts,_  
 Grabbed you one of pop's famous breakfast sandwhiches and coffee.   
Hope you like bacon.  
             - Jughead 

Betty's whole body warmed at the gesture. She was feeling very hopeful that this meant there would be no weirdness between them after the impromptu and inappropriate kiss last night. She had been so horrified she nearly ran out of his apartment without saying bye or anything. 

She wasn't sure when he had snuck in and brought her the breakfast but the coffee was cold so it must have been while ago. She had noted before that he seemed to wake up early and head off somewhere, perhaps the gym. Now she figured it was probably just to Pop's for breakfast. 

As she popped the cold coffee in the microwave she heard her phone buzzing from the bedroom. She quickly made her way to it. It was Veronica calling, this time not through FaceTime, for which Betty was grateful. 

"Morning V." Betty said casually as she answered the phone. 

"Morning B! So I don't have time to really talk but I wanted to call and tell you Archie and I will be coming down this weekend! It's all planned and ready to go!" 

"Wow this weekend? That's so soon!" Her tone sounding more surprised then excited. 

"That's okay right? I should have checked with you first!" Veronica said sounding a bit sad. 

"No, No V! I'm excited! Sorry I just woke up, haven't even had coffee yet." Betty explained. 

"Betty Cooper sleeping in on a weekday? Either this job is incredibly boring or keeping you up way to late at night." Veronica said with a giggle. 

Betty didn't dare tell Veronica the truth, not yet at least. She knew she needed to talk to Jughead, to make sure everything was okay with them still. She also really needed to sit down and come to terms with her own feelings toward him. She could no longer deny that there was something there, something more then just a physical attraction, but it didn't change anything. She was a professional and this was a job that she could not screw up. 

"Hello, earth to Betty, you still there?" Veronica said snapping her out other thoughts. 

"Sorry V! I just didn't sleep good last night." 

"Well then take it easy today and get plenty of rest because this weekend we are going out! I miss you so much Betty it's not even funny! I think Archie is pretty excited about seeing his childhood friend again tool!" 

"I miss you to Veronica! You have no idea. Speaking of, has Archie told Jughead he's coming here? Not that I think it's going to be an issue but it still might be smart to mention it." Betty said, taking her coffee from the microwave. 

"Why don't you just tell him B?" Veronica said nonchalantly. 

Betty bit her lip. Though she knew she would need to eventually talk to Jughead, at least to thank him for breakfast, she was hoping to mostly avoid him for the next few days if she could. However she wouldn't be able to explain that to Veronica without also explaining the kiss. 

"Yea, no problem I can do that. " She finally answered 

After they hung up Betty ate the breakfast Jugehad had left her, showered, and got herself ready for the day. By the time she was headed downstairs, camera in hand, it was nearly noon. 

Not seeing Jughead at the bar, or anywhere in sight, she felt herself relax a bit. She snapped a few pictures of the patrons, noticing it wasn't Toni behind the bar, instead it was a short dark haired serpent, she snapped his picture as well. She decided to head outside. She had been meaning to take some photos of the building itself and the surrounding area. It really was a gorgeous building. 

She was lost in thought, taking as many pictures of the bikes and giant tractor trailers all lined up in a row as she could. It was funny almost, she knew this was indeed Riverdale, but it was so far out from where she grew up that it felt like a completely different place. She guessed that's why the Serpents had chosen it to be their bar in the first place, and at that thought made a mental note to find out when exactly the Serpents were formed and by who. 

Just then she heard the sound a familiar motorcycle pulling into the parking lot. She turned around to see just what she had already known, it was Jughead. He pulled up next to her, cutting the engine quick, before removing his helmet and smiling at her. Without hesitation she snapped a picture of him. He made a face and rolled his eyes, and she laughed. 

"Do you think anyone actually enjoys you taking their picture all the time?" He smirked. 

"Toni and Sweetpea seem to love it." She teased. 

"Of course they do." He said rolling his eyes again. 

She watched as he stepped off his bike, snapping a few more pictures just because. 

"So what's on the agenda for today Betts?" He asked, casually following her and she took some more pictures. 

"Well, taking pictures of you and your fellow Serpents. Asking some probing, possibly personal questions. Maybe getting a burger at some point." She said sarcastically. 

"Probing personal questions?" He questioned, raising an eyebrow at her. 

"Yup. Like, when were the Serpents originally formed and what made you guys choose the Whyte Whyrm?" She asked. 

For a moment he looked shocked, like he hadn't been expecting those exact questions. She watched as he readjusted his beanie. 

"The Serpents were formed about 30 years ago. My dad and a friend of his at the time, Tall Boy, as well as a few other bikers had been riding together for a while when he came up with the idea. I'm not too sure where he came up with the name, but he had had this old bandana that had this really rough picture of a double headed snake and he took that, and drew it in the form of an S, and decided that would be the logo of the Southside Serpents. I remember when were were kids he would tell us the Serpents were a club he was in. Maybe that's how it originally started." He said. 

"Were the Serpents involved in illegal stuff from the beginning?" She asked hesitantly as they walked through the row of 18-wheelers.

"No actually. From what my dad has said, it started out as a sort of brotherhood. A place for people like him to feel accepted. It wasn't until after I was born that they got into illegal stuff. My dad knew the club needed to bring in some money, and Tall Boy had managed to somehow convince him that drugs and guns were the way to do it. Fast forward to now, and you can see where that led them." 

"Is Tall Boy in prison as well?" Betty asked. 

Jughead stopped walking, rubbing the back of his neck and looking around, as if searching for the right words. "No. He's dead. The night my dad was arrested, it was a guns drop off that went south. Tall Boy ended up in the crossfires and just... didn't make it out." 

Betty stifled the gasp that was trying to escape her chest. In none of her research had this story come up. She knew FP's arrest had to do with guns, but none of the articles ever mentioned Tall Boy. Noticing how uncomfortable Jughead looked talking about this, she decided to change the topic just a bit. 

"And the Whyte Whyrm?" She asked gesturing toward the tall beautiful building. 

Jughead's expression lightened significant. "Ah yes, the Whyte Whyrm." He smiled at the building, as if thinking of some fond memory form the past. "Man I basically grew up here. When my dad bought it, back before I was born, it was nothing like it is now. I actually have some pictures back at my dad's trailer I should show you." Betty smiled at the thought of Jughead wanting to show her the photos, even if it was only for the story. 

"When my dad first bought it, he really didn't do anything with it. It wasn't until after my mom left, when Jellybean was three, that he started really pouring his blood sweat and tears into it. It took him about five years, but this was the result. Business has been steady ever since. He was hoping this would get him out of guns and drugs, and it did technically. The drop he got arrested at was going to be the last, and it was." 

"Your dad built this place? That's awesome." Betty simply said. She was amazed at the hard work that had went into not only the building itself, but the gang as well. 

"Yea I guess it is." He said looking to somewhere else. 

After a minute of comfortable silence she was about the bring up the kiss when he cut her off. "So, you mentioned burgers. How about we go pick some up at pops and take them back to my place and you can ask me some more probing and personal questions?" He asked. He had such a carefree look on his face, Betty had to fight the urge to take a picture of him. 

"You had me at burgers Jones." She smiled back to him. 

* * *

They were back at his place now, sitting casually at his dining room table, after finishing their burgers. The conversation had been light and casual but Jughead could tell she had wanted to talk about the kiss, however he didn't want to. He figured avoidance might be the best solution. He decided to turn the tables on her a bit, in an effort to distract her.

"So Betty Cooper, you've asked me quite a few personal questions today, and I've answered them all. I'd say that earns me a few personal questions for you don't you think?" He asked, making sure to sound as light as he could. 

She arched an eyebrow at him before answering hesitantly. "I guess I can agree to those terms."

"Perfect." He said as he got up to throw their garbage away and then headed toward the balcony. He paused at the door, noticing she hadn't moved. "You coming, or what?" He laughed as she promptly got up and followed him out. 

It was a warm summer day but not unbearably hot like it had been. With the breeze it might even feel cool. They were both quite for a bit, just taking in the beautiful day and digesting the large burgers they had wolfed down. 

"You said you didn't want to run into your mom at Pop's, what's that about?" He asked Betty, turning to face her as he shielded his eyes from the sun with his hand. 

He could see Betty's whole body visibly stiffen and for a moment he wondered if maybe he shouldn't have asked, but she seemed to settle just as quickly. He did, however, take notice of her hands, curled into painful fists. 

"I haven't spoken to my mother in fives years." She said flatly. 

"Since you left Riverdale?" He asked. 

"Yes." She replied simply. 

"Is she the reason you left?" 

"Yes." She said again. 

He wasn't sure how far he could push it, and her fists only seemed to be getting tighter at each question, but there was more to this story and he just needed to know. 

"Are you going to tell me what it is about your mother that made you want to leave Riverdale and never speak to her again?" He asked in the most reassuring tone he could muster. 

She looked over at him for the briefest of moments before getting up to walk over to the railing. He followed. After taking a deep breath she began. 

"My mother was abusive. Not just in the physical ways, but mentally and emotionally as well. She expected perfection from her daughters and when she was given anything less, well their were consequences." 

"Daughters?" He asked quietly, not knowing Betty had a sister, or possibly more. 

"Yes. I have a sister, her name is Polly, and I haven't seen her in about ten years. She left the minute she turned 18, and never looked back." 

"What about your dad?" 

"Well my father left when we were just kids. To be honest, that's when the abuse started. My mom just couldn't deal with the fact that her perfect marriage didn't work, and she flat out refused to let the same happen to her daughters." She replied. 

"Did you ever try to tell anyone?" He didn't know where the question came from. His mom had been gone and his dad had been a gang member and a drunk, but neither of the two had ever laid a hand on him or Jellybean. Sure, there may have been times he was beyond hungry, but looking at Betty's trembling hands, he figured it could have always been worse. 

"Once. I told a teacher. I had left an assignment at home and she wasn't willing to let me bring it in the next day. I cried and begged her not to call my mom, even telling her the type of consequences there would be, but she just told me I had over active mind. In fact, when she did call my mom, she told her what I had said. I was 15 and had to wear pants for 2 weeks to hide the bruises on my legs from my moms belt." She wiped a tear from her eye and Jughead had to hold back tears of his own. 

"Didn't any of your friends know?" 

"Archie had always suspected something, but never really knew I don't think. To be honest he's just way to naive for his own good. It wasn't until Veronica moved here not long after that incident that they found out the truth." She laughed a bit, but he wasn't exactly sure why. "Veronica had dragged us to a party with her, and it was the first time I had ever drank alcohol so of course I got way to drunk. Well, Archie had tried to insist they call my mom and I just lost it. I spilled my guts to them, along with everything in my stomach. I also begged them not to tell their parents because I knew it would only make it worse. When we turned 18 Veronica had this plan to get me out of there, to get us all out of there really, and it worked. We packed up her car the day after graduation and drove away without ever looking back. I swear those two probably saved my life." 

Jughead stood there frozen. He wasn't sure what he had expected Betty to tell him, but it wasn't that. Not in his worst nightmares would it have ever been that. He couldn't understand why she would risk coming here to do this story and almost felt guilty for bringing her back here. Without thinking he stepped toward her and pulled her into a hug. 

"It's okay Juggie. I'm fine. Trust me, lots of therapy and knitting has ensured that I am once again a whole person." She laughed sarcastically. 

"I'm so sorry Betty." Was all her could manage. 

She looked up at him, her bright blue eyes somehow seeming even brighter in the harsh summer sun. He's not sure how long they stood like that, could have been hours or maybe only minutes, but before he could stop himself he was kissing her. 

* * *

The moment their lips touched it was like an electric current flowed through his body, pumping his veins with need and hunger. He cupped her face in his palms as her turned his head to deepen the kiss. She didn't protest. Instead, her hands found their way to the back of his head, entwining her fingers in his hair, and pulling ever so slightly. A feeling that made something inside of him grow with even more need. Without breaking the kiss, he placed his hands under her upper thighs and swiftly lifted her up, as she wrapped her legs around his waist. He carried her that way through the door of the balcony, into his bedroom. 

Once in the bedroom, he broke from the kiss only to move his mouth to her neck and collar bone. Betty couldn't control the soft moans that escaped her mouth. Everywhere his tongue and lips touched felt like fire, but a good fire. She felt desperate and needy, but she didn't care. As he traced wet kisses along her neck she reached down to the hem of his t-shirt, quickly pulling it up and over him, breaking their contact. Before leaning back down to kiss her, he did the same with her shirt, stopping momentarily to marvel and how beautiful her body was. 

She pulled him back into the kiss, her hands moving over his broad shoulders as he cupped her breast, rubbing his thumb over the thin material covering her nipple. She arched her back in response, feeling a wetness start to build between her thighs. Jughead snaked an arm around her waist, moving her up further on his bed, before resting the weight of his hips between her thighs. She could feel his growing arousal through the material of her jean shorts and bucked her hips up in response. He let out a small growl in pleasure. 

Moving his hand from her breast, down to the waistband of her shorts, he paused waiting for some kind of approval that she was consenting to his next move. She nodded her head ever so slightly, and Jughead began unbuttoning her shorts, making quick work of removing them. Once they were off, he let his fingers slid over the soft material covering her sex. She was soaked through and his cock twitched at the knowledge that just them kissing had done that too her. He moved his finger in slow circles over the material and she moaned in response. 

"Juggie please, touch me." She begged breathlessly. 

He hooked his fingers in the waistband of her panties and quickly removed them. When he moved his fingers back to her core he let out a low gasp at how wet she was. He moved them in slow circles at first, picking up pace as she started moaning louder and louder. Once she was thoroughly worked up, he slid two finger in, pumping them slowly at first, and then picking up the pace as she bucked her hips in rhythm with him. 

Betty didn't try to stifle her moans. Her body was on fire under his touch and the sensation of how full she felt with his fingers pumping in and out of her was almost to much. She could feel herself starting to near her climax. 

"Don't stop Juggie. I'm gonna come." She managed to choke out. 

"Come for me Betts. Let go." And at his words she did. Feeling like some kind of explosion had just gone off inside her core she yelled out in pleasure. She felt herself involuntarily tighten around his fingers, and twitched at how exquisite the sensation felt. He kissed her softly along her jaw, and she turned her head to find his mouth. 

He was surprised at how needy her mouth still felt. She reached down and cupped his erection through his jeans. He bucked his hips forward into her hand and let out a low moan. 

"I want you inside me Juggie." She whispered in his ear and he felt his cock twitch for the second time. He stood up to quickly remove his pants and boxers, grabbing a condom for the night stand drawer. Betty lay there, staring up him with one hand cupping her breast and the other idly twirling her hair. Just the sight of her was enough to get him off he thought. 

After placing the condom on his cock and making sure it was in place good, he eased back down on top of Betty, the tip of his erection slightly touch her core. She jumped at the sensation and he paused, looking at her to make sure this was still okay. Noticing his hesitance she simply pulled him into a deep kiss while nodding her head. He positioned himself at her entrance and then slowly eased into to her. 

She was impossibly tight but welcoming, a sign that she was as turned on as he was. He pumping in and out of her slowly at first. She dug her nails into his back and moaned louder every time he went a little deeper. He wasn't sure how much longer he would last, the feeling was too good. He was started to move fast and faster, feeling himself near the edge. 

"Harder, Juggie." She whispered. The sex was sloppy, and needy, and fast but Betty didn't care. It was exactly what she needed. 

"I'm gonna come baby." He responded, while doing as she asked. 

"Come for me." With those words and the increased pace he lost it. Hovering himself over her as his orgasm made it's way though his body. She kissed him softly, letting him stay inside her for as long as he needed. 

He pulled out of her slowly, disposing of the condom in the waste basket next to the bed, before pulling her into his arms. 

"God you're beautiful." He said into her hair. 

Betty felt her face flush. How was she still felling shy in front of him after what they had just done. 

"So, I guess we should talk about that kiss now huh?" She said and they both laughed. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well theres the smut I know you've all been waiting for! And a little about Betty's history! 
> 
> Leave some comments below and I'll try to respond to as many as I can!!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: child abuse, domestic abuse, self harm
> 
> You've been warned! 
> 
> Sorry about the two day break! It was two days right? Either way, I was sick, and just needed a bit of a break! I'm back now and I have SO MANY IDEAS! 
> 
> I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!

_"Look what you've done now! You ruin everything you touch don't you! Clean this mess up Elizabeth Cooper or so help me you will not like the consequences. Do you like making me mad? I think you enjoy making me this angry sometimes."_

_Down on her knees she scrambled to pick up the pieces of the shattered glass. The tiny shards shards dug into the delicate skin of her palms but she didn't care or notice. She didn't dare show any signs of pain. She knew better._

_Alice stood above her. Watching with an insidious look on her face as she crossed her arms. "Sometimes I wonder why I even waste my time on you. You will always disappoint me Elizabeth. You always do." She turned on her heal to walk. "I want this cleaned up with the next five minutes or it's an extra hour of conditioning tonight? Do you understand?" She called over her should, not looking at the girl crouched on the ground._

_"Yes mother."_

* * *

 Betty awoke with a jump, half frightened from the nightmare she had been having, when she quickly realized she was not in her bed. Her surroundings were similar, but different. Just then the warm body lying half underneath her started to rouse, and Betty realized where she was and who she was with. 

"You okay Betts?" Jughead asked with a sleepy voice, rubbing small circles on her bare shoulder. 

Betty snuggled her body even closer to him, nuzzling her face into hist chest as she did so. "Yes. I'm more then okay." She finally responded. 

Laying there in Jughead'd bed naked, wrapped in his arms after having made love and fallen asleep, felt like one of those scenes from a romantic movie or a smutty chapter in a romance novel. Stuff of pure fiction. Yet this was not fiction. This was no dream. She could still feel the stickiness between her thighs as evidence. 

Just then her phone buzzed and they both let out an audible groan. 

"It's probably Veronica texting to confirm everything for this weekend." Betty said as she reached across Jughead to were her shorts were on the ground, fishing her phone from the pocket. She was right. Veronica wanted to make sure that Betty knew the times they'd be getting in and if Betty wanted to plan something for that night or wait until the next day. 

"This weekend?" Jughead asked after she had repositioned herself, back in bed, laying next to him instead of on top of him. 

Betty bit her lip. She realized she had forgotten to mention Veronica and Archie coming to visit this weekend to Jughead. "Um yea. Veronica and Archie are sorta coming to visit me this weekend. They are going to stay at a hotel in Greendale." She wasn't sure why she felt so nervous. It's not like Jughead didn't know Archie, and this really wouldn't affect him, if he didn't want it to. 

Jughead's face lit up. "That's awesome Betts. But, why aren't they staying with Archie's dad? He still lives in Riverdale right next..." He trailed off, and Betty watched as the realization hit his face. "Ah, yes. Right next door to your childhood home where your mother still lives." 

"Exactly." She said. 

"That really is exciting though. I haven't seen Archie in..." He paused, running his fingers through his hair and Betty bit her lip at how sexy he looked. "At least 7 or 8 years now that I think about it." 

"Why did you guys stop hanging out?" She decided to ask. 

"I'm not really sure to be honest. We just kinda drifted apart. I found more friends over here on the South Side, specifically with a lot of the younger Serpents, and Archie had, well I guess he had you." He explained. 

"And then Veronica." Betty added. "I think you'll get a kick out of her." 

Jughead laughed, as did Betty. For a moment they lay there, just staring at one another. Betty thought she should have felt embarrassed, laying here naked with him, but she didn't. It's not as though Betty had never been with a guy, she'd actually been with a few, but it was never anything real, or intimate like this. Mostly it was just sex, as she found it difficult to connect with other people on an emotionally level. You didn't really connect in any way other then physical with sex, and that was easy. 

Jughead brushed a loose lock of hair out of Betty's face before cupping her cheek and leaning in to kiss her. It was the softest kiss, yet somehow it still sent a shock wave through Betty's body, leaving her almost breathless. She reached her hand up, entwining her fingers in the back of his hair as she moved to climb on top of him. He kissed her back, turning his head to deepen the kiss, while his other hand found it's way to her ass, gripping it to move her against him. She could already feel that he was hard again. 

Just then Jughead's phone started to ring. They both let out an annoyed sigh as Betty climbed off, covering herself with the blanket, while he answered. 

"Sup Sweets?" He asked, a hint of annoyance in his voice. Betty couldn't hear what Sweetpea was saying but she could tell whatever it was, Jughead didn't like it. "Are you fucking kidding me right now?" He started getting up, turning toward Betty to mouth 'get dressed'. "What hospital?" Betty's heart started to race at the question. "Be there in 10." He hung up. 

"What happened?" Betty asked, as she pulled her shorts up, all to aware that she had no top on and her breasts were bouncing about. 

It was clear Jughead was aware as well. "Fuck you are so sexy." He said staring right at her breasts. If it had been any other person she would have been offended, but for some reason she felt almost powerful when he said it. "Megan." He said, shaking his head. 

"Megan? As in Megan from the woman's shelter? What happened?" She urged as she pulled her shirt over her head, finally breaking the trance Jughead seemed to be in. 

"Apparently her sorry excuse for a husband didn't get the fucking message to stay away. He showed up at Megan's job and beat the shit out of her. She's in the hospital with a fractured nose and some broken ribs." The anger emanating off of him was visible in the way he tightened his jaw as he moved about the apartment. 

Before opening the door he stopped to look at her. "You can't get on the bike in those." He said as he slung his index finger in the waistband of her shorts. 

"Shit. Give me a minute and I'll put some jeans on. I need to grab my camera anyway." She said as she headed right across the hall to her apartment. Jughead following behind. 

As she ran into her bedroom Jughead stayed back in the living room. "You've really made yourself comfortable here huh?" He called to her, obviously noticing the mess. Admittedly Betty had been to preoccupied to care about cleaning up. There were at least a dozen take out containers on the breakfast bar, and clothes just about everywhere. 

"Yea sorry I haven't had much time to clean up." She said returning from the bedroom quickly wearing a tight pair of skinny jeans, doc martins, and a white t-shirt. "Okay I'm ready, lets go." She said as she grabbed her camera. 

"Have you just been ordering out everyday?" Jughead asked as they made their way to the main floor of the bar. 

"Yea why?" She answered? 

"For every meal?" He stopped and looked at her. 

She shrugged and nodded, not understanding where this line of questioning was coming from or going. 

He just shook his head and kept walking. "Toni I'll be back." He said, holding a hand up in Toni's direction. She was behind the bar yet again. 

* * *

The drive to the hospital was short but Jughead still managed to get lost in his thoughts.  _Take out for every meal? He's have to cook her dinner. No, not dinner, that would be like a date, and they can't do that. Shit they just had sex and fell asleep naked in his bed, surely a dinner date isn't totally out of the question. God she looked so good naked in my bed. Maybe breakfast. No that seems way to intimate. I'd love to get that intimate with her. Lunch? That's way to casual plus, what does one cook for lunch? Hot dogs? Get a grip Jones._

By the time they had parked the bike and were heading into the hospital Jughead had had to shake his head twice to bring himself out of his own thoughts. How was it that Betty could do this to him, he thought. 

Right away he spotted Sweetpea and Fangs. "Where is she?" Jughead asked as he and Betty approached them, ignoring Sweetpea's questioning look. 

"She's in the back with Shelly. It's real bad dude." Sweetie replied. 

"I can't wait to get my hands on this fucking asshole again." Fangs said as he cracked his knuckles. 

"Speaking of, do we know where he is?" Jughead asked. 

"Joaquin and a few of the others are out looking now. I told them to check his home and where he works." 

"You two go check local bars and hang outs as well. I want this asshole found and brought to the Whyrm, in one piece, before midnight. Is that understood?" He was using his boss voice, the one he used when shit need to get done. 

"Yes boss." They both replied before exiting the hospital. 

Jughead had almost completely forgotten Betty had been standing there. He glanced over, expecting her to look scared or angry but the look on her face, was something completely different and he didn't quite understand it. He was about to ask her when Shelly walked out. 

"Forsythe. Thank you for coming again. I'm sorry this has had to be an ongoing problem." She said, hugging Jughead. "Betty, pleasure to see you again. Sorry it's under these circumstances." Embracing her as well. 

"It's nice to see you again as well. How is Megan?" Betty asked, as charming as ever, and Jughead had to stifle the smile growing on his face. 

"I'm afraid she's not good. She doesn't want to speak to anyone or see anyone. She thinks your visit with John may have made this all worse and is starting to feel like she regrets getting help." 

Jughead felt his jaw tightening, as he ran a hand through his hair, realizing he didn't have his beanie on. This was one of the harder parts of his job. He now had to make good on the threats he had sent the asshole's way the other day. He'd only had to do that a few times, and hated it every single time. He glanced at Betty, wondering what was running through her mind. 

"Do you think she'd see me?" Betty asked Shelly. 

"I will certainly go ask. Wait here. There's a small room to the left if you'd like to sit." Shelly said, more for Betty considering Jughead had been here plenty of times. 

Once Shelly walked back through the double doors he led Betty over to the sitting area. He motioned for her to sit next to him, but instead she began pacing. 

"How the fuck could this happen?" Betty said, almost startling him. He wasn't sure if he had ever heard her curse. The sound of the harsh word leaving her beautiful mouth was something he didn't know he needed until after she said it. "Think the fucking police will take her seriously now? Jesus christ!" She said as she kicked the trash can next to his chair. 

"As much as I'd like to put your mind at ease, it's not likely. The police don't care about the Southside." He said flatly. It was a truth he had long since been made aware of. The police never cared about the Southside unless it meant locking them up. 

"I can't fucking believe this. She needs to let me back there. To document the..." She paused. Jughead caught sight of Betty's hands. Curdled into tight fists, the same tight fists from earlier, only this time her knuckles were turning white from the pressure. 

"Betty, what are you doing?' He said before he could stop himself, his eyes traveling to her fists. 

He watched as Betty's face went white, and then suddenly bright red. Like a child caught in the act of doing something they knew they shouldn't. He was just about to say something when his phone rang. It was Shelly. 

"Hey Shelly." 

"I'm afraid Megan wants no visitors, not even Betty unfortunately." She spoke softly, almost too softly, and Jughead had to walk toward the back of the waiting room to hear her. 

"That's okay Shelly. We're gonna get this guy and take care of him, for good. You just take care of her. If there is anything else you need, don't hesitate to call." When he hung up he turned to tell Betty but she was gone. 

Walking outside he spotted Betty, sitting on the curb by his bike. He walked up, taking a seat beside her, but giving her space. 

"You okay?" He asked. 

"What did Shelly say?" She asked in return, not answering his question. 

"Megan doesn't want to see you, or anyone for that matter." He replied. "Betty are you okay?" He asked again, this time with a bit more edge to his tone, to let her know he wanted her to answer. 

"I'm fine. I'm just..." She paused and he watched as she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Her profile was so perfect he could stare at it all day. "I'm so angry." 

"Yea, that's understandable." He said, standing up. "There's nothing more we can do here. Come on." He said, as he straddled the bike, deciding the topic of her fists could probably wait. 

* * *

Once back at the Whyte Whyrm, Betty made up some excuse about needing a shower, before quickly rushing off to her apartment. It's not the she didn't plan on showering, or that she didn't want to spend more time with Jughead, she just didn't feel like answering the questions she knew he was going to be asking about her hands. 

Betty stood under the hot stream of water, with her palms facing up. Letting the water wash away the dried blood from earlier at the hospital. Five years of therapy and thousands of miles of distance between her and her mother and yet this was still a habit she couldn't break. It happened mostly during times of anger or fear, or when she needed a release to just calm herself down from whatever emotion was currently just too much. It started right after her dad left, when the abuse from her mom started, and she had been unable to stop ever since. 

Her palms were littered with scars, most in half moon crescent shapes from her nails, others from the time she had accidentally broken a glass in her mother's kitchen and she had made Betty clean it up with her bare hands. Betty winced at the memory and closed her hands. Letting the hot water also wash away the ick she always felt when memories of her mother crept up on her. 

She was starting to think this had been a bad idea. Coming back here, even if it wasn't her home, had left her feeling very raw and on edge. On top of that, Jughead had seemed inexplicably interested in getting to know her, even before they had had sex. Just the thought of their earlier tryst, though, made Betty's skin flush with heat. She simply could not deny that he had some kind of power of her body. 

Betty thought back to the hospital and the way he had commanded the two Serpents. His voice going deeper and his eyes becoming an almost steel blue. It was the sexiest thing she had even seen and she had had to remind herself where they were and why they were there. She could feel a wetness and an aching start to build between her thighs as she thought about Jughead. For a second she contemplated sliding her finger into her core, just for some kind of relief, but then the water started to get cold, as she had used up most of the hot water. 

About an hour later and she was lying on the couch, starving. She had been debating for the last 20 minutes whether she was going to order take out or borrow Jughead's car to go get something from Southside diner. Her take out options were slim, being Chinese and pizza, both of which she had had multiple times this week. She decided she would just brave it, and borrow Jughead's car. 

As she got up and started sliding her shoes on, she realized she no longer had his keys. "Fuck." She whispered. She would have to ask him. 

She was just heading out the door when her body collided with his. "Shit, sorry!" He said, as he held her up by her arms, steadying her. 

She laughed. "No it's okay. I was actually just coming to ask you if I could borrow you car again." 

"Betty, how many times do I have to tell you, you don't have to ask." His brows were furrowed and Betty almost felt bad. 

"You, kinda have the keys..." She said, trailing off a bit at the end. 

"Shit. You're right." He said, patting the back pocket of his jeans, before removing them and handing them to her. 

"Thank you!" She said, trying to make an exit around him. 

"Wait Betty, um." He paused, rubbing his had on the back of his neck. "I was actually coming here to invite you over for dinner. I cooked." He said with hope in his eyes. 

Betty was stunned. He had cooked dinner, for her? "You cooked dinner? For me?" She asked. 

"Well yea. You said you've been eating take out for every meal and I kinda felt bad. I'm all for burgers and fries, and chinese, and pizza, and cheesesteaks and every other type of take out, but nothing really beats a home cooked meal. It's nothing special, just some lasagna, but I figured it was better then the crap you've been eating. Not that you eat like crap but... " He was rambling. Something Betty had never seen him do and she was enthralled. 

"Jughead, I'd love to come over for dinner." She said finally. 


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A few notes!! 
> 
> 1\. Thank you so much for all the wonderful comments! I'm so glad you guys are enjoying this fic! This has by far been my favorite to write and I'm hopeful that I will keep up with it!   
> 2\. Just as a general rule, the trigger warnings from the previous chapters, apply to this one, and the rest of them. That being self-harm, abuse, and child abuse.   
> 3\. The smut is getting smuttier! I'm not sure whats come over me but this chapter goes there so I hope you enjoy it! haha  
> 4\. This chapter is way longer, and some of it is filler, but I needed to move the story along a bit. I mean we spent like 4 chapters in the same day! Not that the story is picking up speed we should be good! haha  
> 5\. Again, keep leaving comments and telling me how I feel! It's like the fuel I need to write more! 
> 
> Follow me on tumble at bettyj0nes!

Betty was well into her second plate of lasagna when she felt Jughead's eyes on her. 

"What?" She said looking up at him with a mouth full of food. 

"Nothing. I've just never seen someone scarf down a plate of lasagna that fast." He said with a smirk. 

"What can I say, it's really good and I was hungry." She replied swallowing the delicious bite of lasagna. Not only had she been amazed at the fact that he cooked her dinner, but even more shocked when it was actually really good. "Where did you learn to cook anyway?" 

"I'm self taught. Sometimes self preservation requires one learn how to do something without being taught. If Jellybean and I wanted to eat, often times that meant figuring out how to feed ourselves." He stated factually. 

Betty sat back in her chair, feeling more stuffed then a thanksgiving day turkey. The conversation throughout the meal had been light and casual, for which Betty was grateful. She had every intention of avoiding Jughead for as long as she possibly could but when he stood at her door way, looking nervous and shy, inviting her to dinner, she couldn't say no. He seemed to have that affect on her and Betty thought for a moment about how insane she was acting about a guy she had only known for 4 days. Although, these days her days felt more like weeks. How was it possible that just this morning she was walking around outside snapping pictures of the outside of the Whyrm and now she was sitting in Jughead's apartment, having just finished her second meal of the day there. Not to mention the fact that just hours earlier they had made love in this very apartment. 

Betty suddenly felt very tired. Maybe it was the large meal she just had or all the emotional ups and downs of the day, but peering over at Jughead's tan sectional sofa, she wanted nothing more then to curl up on it and close her eyes. 

"Wanna watch a movie?" Jughead asked as he began cleaning up their plates. She started to get up and help but he protested. "Go pick a movie Betts, I've got this." 

Without questions she did just that. Lined up on the wall in tall black shelves next to his giant flat screen TV were rows and rows of DVD's. There was well over 100 of them. Looking through, Betty noticed the pattern immediately. They were separated into genre's, alphabetically. She ran her fingers across the titles as she skimmed through them, before stopping at the title 'Rebel Without A Cause'. She pulled it from the shelf, eyes it for a moment, before placing it on the coffee table.  

"Really?" Jughead smirked, looking down at the movie. "I figured you grab The Notebook or The Breakfast Club." 

She squinted at him. "The Notebook? Do I really strike you as the kinda girl who watches The Notebook?" 

He eyed her for a moment, as if he were really considering the question. "Hmm, I guess not." He finally said. 

As Jughead got the movie set up, she found a spot on the large sofa. It was the same as the one in her apartment, only this one was tan and well worn in, which made it all the more comfortable. She felt a slight shiver, from the air conditioning, and right on cue Jughead draped a blanket over her. 

"We'll have the share." He said with a smirk as he sat down. Betty inched as close to him as she could get, propping her legs on his lap and resting her head on his shoulder.

As tired as she felt just a few moments ago, she was now wide awake and alert. He cheek burned where it rested on his chest and she was all to aware of the small circles he was making on her thigh. It was hard to concentrate on the movie when she could hear his heart beating in his chest and was surrounded by his intoxicating scent. 

She willed herself to focus on the screen, determined to make it through this movie without any distractions. 

* * *

The movie ended and Jughead looked down to see Betty, still soundly asleep. She had been that way for the last half hour and he didn't dare move to wake her. Now however, he really needed to pee. He slowly peeled her off of him, leaning her backward against a pillow and lifting her legs to move out from under them. She didn't move a bit, clearly in a deep slumber. He stood there for a moment, watching her sleep. Her soft features, looking somehow even softer in her relaxed state. Her hair was pulled up into it's usual pony tail, only it had been a bit messed up form falling asleep, something Jughead thought looked absolutely gorgeous. After a beat he realizing he looked like a creeper and made his way to the bathroom. 

After he went pee, he looked at the time, realizing it was nearly 8pm, and decided a quick shower would be nice and it would also help pass the time while Betty slept. He stood under the hot water, his body tense and on edge, unable to calm down. Feeling Betty's body on top of his for the duration of the movie felt amazing as much as it felt agonizing. He had made sure to keep his hand planted on her thigh, and it took every ounce of will power not to let it travel upward and beyond. He thought back to earlier that day, the sight of Betty coming undone underneath him, clenching in orgasm around his fingers. God she was fucking beautiful and the sex had been, well it was been fast and sloppy but it had also felt more passionate then anything he had ever done with any other woman. His cock twitched at the though, his arousal growing under the steady stream of the shower. 

Instinctively his hand came up to grip his member, slowly pumping up and down. He could easily find the release he needed, right here in the shower, like he had done plenty of times since puberty. But doing it to thoughts of Betty withering in pleasure underneath him, while she slept soundly on his couch, felt cheap and someone dirty. Releasing himself he turned the shower water on as cold as he could stand it, sighing in frustration. 

Once he was dressed, and after checked a few things on his phone and made a few phone calls, it was nearly 10pm. Betty had been asleep for over 2 hours on his couch and he wasn't sure if he should just let her sleep, or wake her. The decision was made for him when he heard her start to rouse. 

"Good morning sleeping beauty." He said softly, coming to sit down next to her. 

She threw the blanket over her head and he couldn't help but giggle. "It's not morning. I'm going back to sleep." 

"Well, you're right, it's 10 o'clock, but..." He paused. "Wouldn't you be more comfortable in your own bed?" It's not that he wanted her to leave, he didn't at all, but he felt bad. 

She uncovered her face, the look her eye a mix of sleepiness and something he couldn't quite place. She licked her lips. "I'd probably be more comfortable in your bed actually." She said softly. 

Jughead couldn't help the smile that spread across his face. "I'd probably be more commutable with you in my bed as well." He said as he stood up, offering her his had. 

She followed him closely behind, as he turned off all the lights, before heading into his room. He reminded himself not to have any expectations, they were just going to bed to sleep, and he was more then okay with that. But once they were in his room, and Betty had removed her shorts, choosing to sleep in just her small tank top, he couldn't help the involuntary twitch of his cock and the hunger that grew in his gut. 

He slid in next to Betty, and she immediately drew her body close to his. _No expectations, no expectations_ he repeated in his head over and over, not that it was working. Having been worked up from earlier, deciding to deny himself release in the shower, he was already hard. _Seriously Jones, what are you 12?_  he thought to himself, utterly embarrassed by his inability to simply lay next to this woman without getting a boner. As Betty rested her head on his bare chest and brought her leg up to hook on his body, he heard her let out a breath. Clearly, she knew he was aroused. 

He felt his face flush as she looked up at him, and he covered his face with his hands. "I'm so sorry. I'm not sure why..." He paused not even wanting to say the words. "Clearly he has a mind of his own." He laughed, gesturing to the space below his waste, trying to make a joke at his own expense. 

He almost expected Betty change her mind and decide to go home, or at the very least he was sure she'd move away from him. Instead she suddenly climbed on top of him, straddling him, her core resting on his hardened cock. He let out a hot breath at the contact. 

"Maybe I can help you with that." She said, her voice laced with lust, as she licked her lips. 

She bucked her hips forward, grinding her herself on his cock and even through the material of her panties he could tell she was soaked. 

"Fuck, Betts." He gasped out. The feeling was incredible. 

She continued with that motion for a few more moments before she began lowering herself, leaving hot kisses down his chest, to his stomach, stopping at the top of his pajama pants before looking up at him. The sight alone was enough to make him come. Her face, lit only by the moon shinning in through the big windows, was so seductive and beautiful. He reached down to cup her cheek, wanting to pull her to him, to kiss her. But she had other plans. 

Hooking her fingers in the waistband of his pants at hips, she pulled them down as he raised his hips to help her. Once he was freed, she sat up a bit, taking in the sight of his long hard cock. He didn't take his eyes off of her face. She brought her hand up to her mouth, licking her palm slowly, before bringing that same hand down to him. She pumped up and down, slowly as she maintained eye contact with him. Before he could even think, she bent down and took his length in her mouth. 

"Oh my god." He grunted out. Her mouth was warm and wet and she took him deep, until he hit the back of her throat. She licked and sucked, pumping his shaft with her one hand, while she reached the other hand up to his stomach. He looked down just as she was looking up and the eye contact was so intense he almost lost it. "Fuck Betty. Stop. I'm gonna cum." He managed, but she didn't stop, instead she pushed him deeper into her mouth and pumped faster. 

Any other time and he would have let her keep going, but he didn't want this to end. "Stop Betty. I don't want to cum like this. Fuck." He said and immediately she pulled back, looking almost rejected. He instantly felt bad. "Fuck baby that felt so good, but if you kept going I wouldn't able to move after and this would be over way to soon." He said as he reached up, cupping her face in his and crashing his lips into hers. He could taste himself on her lips and tongue as he moved her into his lap, sliding his finger past her panties that were now soaked through and into her waiting sex. 

"Fuck you're so wet." He breathed into her mouth as they kissed. He pumped two fingers in and out, in smooth rhythm as he made sure to graze her clit with his palm after each pump. She bucked her hips hard into his hand and moaned. "Does that feel good baby?" 

"So fucking good. Don't stop Juggie. Don't ever stop." She cried out as her finger nails dub into his back. The pain and her pleas were like a sudden jolt to his system. Suddenly he not only wanted to make her come undone around his fingers, he needed to. He pumped them in and out, fast and harder as she bounced up and down with each thrust. 

"I'm gonna come Juggie. I'm so close." She cried out again. 

"Come on Betts. Come all over me." With his words she felt apart. Her body writhing and convulsing in pleasure. He kept his hand still, wanting to give her a moment to come down but yet again, she had other plans. 

"I need you inside me Jug. I need it so bad." She said as she bucked her hips on his hand yet again. Feeling almost animalistic, he quickly replaced his fingers with his throbbing cock, and Betty began bouncing up and down just as she had been a moment ago on his hand. Letting go of him for a brief moment, she reached down to the hem of her tank top and pulled it up over her head and then reached back and undid her bra, freeing her breast. 

Jughead leaned back, resting his wait on his of his arms, while the other hand came up to palm Betty's breast, as they bounced about. "Fuck you feel so good." 

"Harder Juggie." She breathed. 

Unable to get much leverage from this position, he quickly snaked an arm around her waste and flipped her over so he was overing over her, not breaking their contact at all. He lifted her hips and began thrusting hard. Betty cried out and he was sure the whole bar could hear her but he didn't care. 

He watched the beautiful woman below him, as she gripped her breast and fisted her hand into the pillow behind her head, lost in the ecstasy of the moment. He felt himself coming closer and closer to the edge when he realized he was not wearing a condom. 

"Fuck Betty. I have to pull out, I'm gonna come." 

"Come on me baby." She said in the sexiest voice he'd ever heard. 

After two more quick thrusts he pulled out of her quickly, spraying his warm white liquid all over her belly. In the past, when he had been less then responsible, this act had somehow felt dirty, but in this moment with Betty, it was nothing but hot. The way she withered and moaned as the liquid touched her skin, almost as if it felt good. 

He hovered over her for a moment, both of them catching there breath before he moved. "Fuck, I'm so sorry. Let me get a towel." 

Before he could move she reached up to cup his face, pulling him into a warm kiss. "Jughead Jones, you have absolutely nothing to be sorry about right now." 

He didn't have any words. He just stared at her in awe. 

"Instead of a towel, how about a quick shower instead?" Betty suggested, and he didn't dare mention he had already showered while she slept. 

* * *

After a shower and another round of quick love making Betty and Jughead laid in his bed, tangled in each other. Betty's head was laying on his chest and she could hear his heart beat. It was probably somewhere around midnight or even later at that point and she almost wanted to pinch herself to know if this was real. She felt so at ease and yet somehow so alive. A feeling she had never known before.

Jughead was softly rubbing small circles on her back, something he seemed to like doing a lot, when he grabbed the hand that she had placed on his chest. She watched as he brought it up to his face, as if he was inspecting her palm. He whole body stiffened, unsure of what to do or what he was going to say.

"I know you don't want to talk about it, I got that hint earlier tonight when you ran off at the hospital, so I'm not going to ask you. Just know if you ever wanted to tell me, you could, and there would be no judgment coming from me." He said softly. When he was finished, he brought her palm to his lips and kissed it as softly as possible.

Betty felt her eyes filling with tears. It was such a sweet and loving gesture, almost to the point that she couldn't take it. This was not the reaction she was used to. In the past, when she had short term boyfriends, or part time flings who had noticed the scars on her hands, their reactions were almost always disgust or indifference. The only other two people who even knew about her palms were Archie and Veronica, and though they never judged her, not for anything, it still wasn't the same. 

Taking a deep breath, Betty decided that at this point she didn't see any reason not to tell him. She sat up, sitting cross legged next to him, with the sheet pulled up over her breasts. He adjusted himself, so he was more propped up with an arm behind his head for leverage. 

"My dad left when I was 8 and Polly was 10. I told you that's when the abuse from my mom started. At first it was mostly verbal and I guess if I'm being honest with myself, she was probably pretty abusive before he left, but it was nothing compared to everything after. Polly and I..." She pause, thinking of the best words to use. In truth, she had never had to tell anyone, besides her therapist, about the abuse. With Archie and Veronica she had been drunk and it just spilled out of her. "We were expected to be perfect, in every conceivable way, and when we weren't, there were punishments." 

"Punishments?" Jughead asked, his brows furrowed together. 

"Yes. At first they were just verbal whippings really. She would tell each of us we were worthless, or disgusting. If she felt we ate to much she would call us pigs. When that began to get old, and she felt it was no longer working, that's when the physical punishments started. She would make us kneel on uncooked white rice for hours. It may not sound all that bad but after 3 hours, the pain can be pretty unbearable." She kept her eyes focused on her palms, willing herself to stay focused and present, and to not lose it. "She would smack out hands with a wooden ruler. When we got older, she used a belt, and not just on our hands. Through all of this, we were not allowed to show emotion. If we cried we got it worse. That's when I started doing this." She lifted her hands. 

Jughead sat up, reaching out to take her hands in his, interlocking their fingers. Betty bit her lip to hold back the tears. 

"Whenever I felt myself getting angry or sad or any emotion really, my finger nails would dig into my pals until they bled, and I would suddenly feel numb. It was my coping mechanism." 

"That's what these scars are from." Jughead said, turning her hands over and rubbing a finger over the small crescent moon shaped scars. "What about..." He trailed those. 

"The rest are from when I accidentally broke a drinking glass. My mother made me clean it up with my bare hands, every last shard, and then when I was done, she made me clean up my own blood off the floor. I've been in therapy since the day I left Riverdale. Like hardcore therapy. I was even hospitalized for a short period of time, where I learned how to cope with everything that my mother did. But this, this habit is just, unbreakable." She said, shaking her hands. "It's the constant reminder that I'm damaged." 

"You are not damaged Betty Cooper. We all have baggage, some more then others, but my god you are not damaged." He said as he pulled her into a kiss. She could have gotten lost in that kiss, but all too soon he pulled her back. 

"Jellybean used to cut herself." He said flatly. Betty stared at him, almost in disbelief. "After my dad got locked up I finally took custody of her. She was 13 at the time and she was so fucking angry at the world. I mean, I couldn't blame her, I still don't, but it was hard. One day I had found out she skipped school. They had called me and so I came flying back here on my motorcycle ready to carry her out over my shoulder back to school. I stormed into her room only to the find her, on the floor, with a blade in her hand blood spilling out from her forearm. It was the most horrific thing I had ever seen and I've seen men get shot and bleed out right in front of my eyes." He paused to take a steadying breath and Betty held hers in. "I immediately took her to the hospital. I honestly didn't know if she would need stitches or if she was trying to kill herself, or what. I simply knew nothing about it. They admitted her into a mental health facility for 2 and a half weeks, and since she got out she's been in therapy. What you just told me, about why you do that, man it's almost word for word what Jellybean said to me at the hospital that night." He ran a hand through his hair and Betty's eyes spilled over with tears. 

"Oh Juggy!" She reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck sliding into his lap. They both stayed that way, softly sobbing for what felt like forever, until they eventually laid down, exhaustion finally taking over. 

* * *

The next few days flew by in what felt like a blissful haze for Betty. There hadn't been anything to exciting happening at the bar so she and Jughead spent their days mostly together, while she interviewed and took photos of each individual member, wanting to learn as much about them as she could. After learning everything she had about Jughead, in the most personal and intimate ways, she was driven to know all about the rest of the gang. 

Toni, she learned, had joined the gang three years ago. She and Jughead had been friends since they were small children, but when Toni's mom died, she was left with her step-father, who took her away to a new town. He was also incredibly abusive, both physically and sexually and when Jughead got a call from Toni in the middle of the night saying she needed help he didn't hesitate. She joined the club not even a month later and had been tending the bar ever since. It was something she loved to do and she was damn good at it. She was also a lesbian, the clubs first lesbian and female member. 

Sweetpea had been in the club longer then Jughead. He joined when he was only 15. His dad had been a long time member, and he always knew he'd. When he was 17 his dad died and since his mom hadn't been in the picture since he was a baby, the club was all he had left. Fangs had a very similar story, only instead of a mom who took off when he was a baby, he had a mom who had died when he was 13 years old. Overdosed on heroine right in front of him. His dad was also a member and when he died a similar fate when Fangs was 16, he turned to club for support. 

Joaquin DeSantos, the clubs first gay member, had been kicked out on the streets at the age of 17 when his dad found out he was gay. After 3 weeks of being homeless, he had showed up on the door step of the Whyte Whyrm in the dead of winter just looking for a warm place to sleep. FP took one look at him and told him he could stay here as long as he liked, and he did. He lived in the one bedroom apartment Betty was now living in for 3 years before he saved up enough to get his own place. He joined after a year of living at the Whyrm because he could see the Serpents were a family, and he wanted that. 

As far as Betty was concerned, that what she saw as well. A family of misfits who found their way to one another when they literally had no one else. Most of the immediate club was around Jughead's age, give or take a few years, with about a quarter of the members being closer to Jughead's dad's age. They weren't as active as the younger guys though. It seemed once FP was incarcerated and Jughead took over, that's when the younger generation started to flourish. 

She also learned about the many ways the group helped the community, that fell within the legal realms. Monthly food banks, clothing and toy drives around the Holiday's, volunteer work that Jughead made mandatory for each active member of the gang. He himself spent a good amount of time at the homeless shelter and and local children's hospital. That didn't even factor in the work they did for each member and their families. Hosting children's birthday parties and weddings at the Whyte Whyrm, offering protection when it was necessary, and just in general being a supportive group.

As for the Whyte Whyrm itself, it's main job was to financially support the club, and it did that and more. While Toni was the main bar tender, each Serpent had their own set of duties to keep the Whyrm up and running, for which they were all paid for. Being a member in itself garnered monthly wages. Betty was floored at how, in just five short years, Jughead had managed to take the club and it's members from nearly drowning, to profiting above and beyond expectation. It was also clear the Serpents respected him a great deal, and so did she. 

When they weren't down at the main bar, with the rest of the Serpents, they were tangled together in his sheets. The whole week seemed to fly by and before she knew it, it was Friday and Veronica and Archie were on a flight headed to Greendale and Betty could hardly contain her excitement. 

"How long has it been since you've seen them?" Toni asked, placing the glass of water Betty ordered on the bar in front of her. 

"Oh man it feels like forever. About 2 year for Veronica, she came to visit me up in Rocklind for a weekend, and about 3 maybe 4 years since I last saw Archie. It was the last trip I had made back to Columbia." She replied, thinking fondly of her best friends. 

"That's a long time to go without seeing your best friend." Toni said in a matter of fact tone. Betty watched as her eyes traveled over to where Jughead was standing by the Karaoke stage. He was making sure everything was ready and squared away for the night of celebration. They had planned to throw a big party for for Archie and Veronica, just because they could. 

"It's really awesome that you and Jughead are so close." Betty said to Toni. 

She gave her a look. "Don't go getting all jealous blondie. Remember, he's not my type." 

"No no, I was being sincere!" Betty said, reaching out to touch Toni's arm, feeling her almost flinch away. 

The was a short silence between them before Toni spoke to fill it. "Well I think it's really awesome that  _you_ and Jughead are so, you know, close." She said with a wink and a suggestive bounce of her eyebrows. 

Betty's face blushed red. She and Jughead had managed to keep things pretty darn professional in front the Serpents. They tried hard to keep the flirting to a minimum and there were absolutely no displays of PDA. After all, regardless of what was going on between them, she was still here to do a job, and now she was even more invested in the story then before. 

"Don't worry Betty, my lips are sealed. Besides, I didn't know for sure, I mean Jug never said anything to me, but that look on your face was all the answer I needed." She said walking away. 

Betty finished the rest of her glass of water and made her way up to her apartment. She wanted to make sure everything was cleaned up and that she got a chance to shower and get herself all done up before Veronica and Archie got here. She told herself that tonight, she was officially off duty, taking a break from analyzing and photographing everyone, even going as far as to put her camera completely away, something no self respecting photographer ever did. She planned to get drunk with her best friends, sing some terrible karaoke, and maybe, just maybe, sneak off to Jughead's room after everyone went home for some passionate drunk sex. 

She had just stepped out of her shower when she heard her phone buzzing from the bedroom. It was Veronica. 

"Hey V!! Betty said, unable to hide the excitement in her voice! 

"Betty! We JUST landed! I swear, I will never fly coach AGAIN! The whole plane smelled like a sweaty gym bag and there were 4 screaming babies! Can you believe that!?" Veronica whined. 

"Sounds like you need a drink bestie!" 

"This is why I love you! I need about ten drinks!" She laughed. "Archie and I are getting the rental car now, then we are gonna heal to the hotel, shower, change and all that jazz, and then Betty Cooper we will be on our way to Whyte, whatever it's called!" 

"The Whyte Whyrm! And okay perfect! Leaves me just enough time to finish getting dressed and getting everything ready!" Betty replied nearly jumping up and down. Just then she heard a knock on her front door, as Jughead opened it and stepped in. "I'm so excited to see you V! I miss you guys much!" 

"We miss you to Betts! Also, be warned, Archie is bringing his guitar. Something about him and Jughead and some band they used to be in when they were kids." Betty could almost hear Veronica roll her eyes. 

"Archie and Jughead use to be in band?" She spoke into the phone but the question was aimed at Jughead who was standing in front of her, his hands on her hips as he left soft kisses along her neck. She heard him let out an annoyed sigh as he pulled back and mouthed  _'it wasn't a band'_  while rolling his eyes. 

"Yea apparently they were called, what did you say the name was Archiekins?" Veronica said, her mouth clearly turned away from the phone. "Ah yea, The Archies." 

"Wow, The Archies, how original." Betty laughed. "It's gonna be an interesting night." Again she directed her comment toward Jughead, who had slipped a hand under her towel and was gripping her ass. 

"Oh yes it will be! Alright B, I'll see you soon! Ta-ta!" Veronica said, not waiting for Betty to answer before hanging up. 

Betty dropped the phone and turned her full attention to Jughead, who's hands had made there way between her legs. 

"As much as I would love to indulge in some of this..." Betty paused, stifling a moan trying to escape her throat. "I really need to get dressed." 

"Clothes are overrated." Jughead breathed into her neck, as his fingers made small slow circles over her wet clit. 

"Well, I mean I guess I could go naked tonight. I've never been much of an exhibitionist or a nudist for that matter, but I'm always down to try something once. A room full of rowdy bikers seems like the perfect audience, hey maybe I can even do some pole dancing!" Betty teased. Jughead stopped all movement, pulling back to give her a stern look. 

"Abso-fucking-lutely not." He said as he swatted her bare ass. 

"Why not?" I'm sure Toni would love the show. Hell even Sweetpea might..." 

"Watch it Cooper.'' He said with gravel in his tone, cutting her off. She knew it was probably taking it a step to far, but it was all good fun. 

"Calm down Jones. I only give private shows, and only for a certain leather wearing, crown beanie donning Serpent. He's about 6'2", blue eyes, happens to be the leader of said gang. You've heard of him right?" She said teasing him again. 

"Yea I have. I heard he has a big cock to." He teased back. 

"Oh my god." Betty said, rolling her eyes as she pushed passed him to the bedroom. He followed her in, laying down on the bed. "So, tell me, you excited to see Archie?" 

"Fuck yea Betts. Haven't seen him in so long though, I hope it's not weird." He answered, removing his beanie and running a hand through his hair. 

"I doubt it will be. According to Veronica he's pretty excited to see you as well." She said, dropping her towel to the floor and walking over to her closet. She flipped through a few things before changing her mind, walking over to her dresser and, bending down every so slightly, looking in a few of the drawers. "What should I wear? Veronica will probably wear some sexy skimpy dress, but idk, I'm thinking maybe shorts and t-shirt. A Betty classic." She hadn't been facing him so when she turned around she couldn't help but smile at the look that was on his face. 

His jaw was slack and if he were a cartoon it would probably be on the floor. His eyes were big, filled with lust and amusement. "Betts are you trying to fucking kill me or what?" He finally said. 

"What do you mean?" She asked, feigning confusion. She knew exactly what she was doing. 

"It's taking every ounce of will power I have right now not to cross this room and fuck the shit out of you right this second Cooper, I just want you to know that." He said, again running his hand through his hair. 

"I know..." She said seductively, running her hands over her stomach up toward her breast. She cupped them, twisting her nipples and squeezing her breasts, not moving her eyes off of his. Betty had never been particularly shy when it came to sex. As a teenager, still under her mother's abisive thumb, she used it as a way to rebel, a way to connect with another person without really connecting. As an adult, she used it for fun, and almost as a way to disconnect. With Jughead, it was different. When they fucked, or made love, it was like the ultimate connection. He brought out something sexy and sensual in her that she had never felt before. A new confidence that she never wanted to lose. 

"Fuck Betts." He said, as he palmed himself over his jeans, trying to adjust his growing erection. 

"You want this Juggy?" She asked, slipping her hand between her legs, running a single finger into her sex. She maintained the intense eye contact as she brought that finger up, slipping it into her mouth, and sucking it hard. 

"Jesus, I fucking need it." Jughead growled as he crossed the room to her. Within seconds he was crashing into her, his lips meeting hers. He picked her, and carried her to the bed. 

"Then take me baby!" She yelled, with her arms stretched out as she flew back onto the bed. 

"You're something else." Jughead said as he laughed along with her. They made love, and for the third time that day Betty saw stars. 

 


	9. Chapter 9

Veronica and Archie had called Betty around 8 to say that they were on their way. It was a Friday night so the place was already a little packed. Betty sat at the bar, the side closest to the door, with her body turned around so she wouldn't miss them coming in. Jughead watched her intently, the excitement radiating off of her was palpable. 

"You'd think Santa was about to come through that door with a whole sack of gifts just for you." He said in her direction as he approached the bar. "Toni, grab me a beer please. When you get the chance." 

"Coming right up boss." Toni replied, stopping what she was doing to get him a beer. 

"Santa doesn't even compare to Ronnie and Archie, Jug!" Betty said, her eyes widening as she flew off the bar stool. 

He looked over to the front door. In walked a beautiful raven haired girl, dressed in a sparkly black dress, with stark white pearls hung around her neck. She had olive toned skin and deep brown eyes that looked like they could pierce right through you. _That must be Veronica_ he thought. Coming in behind her was his childhood friend, Archie Andrews. His hair was just as vividly red as he remembered only now it was a bit shorter, more tamed. He had that same easy-going boy next door wide grin and Jughead couldn't help but match it as he approached them. 

"Archie fucking Andrews! It's been too long man!" He said as he reached out a hand. 

"Forsythe Pendleton Jones the third, get the over here dude!" Archie completely ignore Jughead's hand, instead pulling him into a tight manly hug. Had it been anyone else Jughead might have knocked him out, but Archie held a place in his life, in his heart, that forever reminded him of good times. 

"Well, well you certainly are a tall dark drink. Were you born wearing that leather, because my god does it suit you!" Veronica said. Jughead felt his whole face blush bright red as he took her hand. "Veronica Lodge, Betty's best friend and Archie's future wife." 

"Oh wow I didn't know you guys were engaged." Jughead said. 

"We're not, but it's kinda inevitable." Archie said his gaze focused on Veronica. As far as Jughead could tell it was clear they were in love, and it warmed his heart to know his childhood friend had found someone. His thoughts started to drift to Betty who had been clutched to Veronica's side, just taking in the whole scene. 

"Alright boys, enough kissing and hugging. Where is the bar because mama needs a drink!" Veronica said. 

"This way V." Betty said laughing as she lead Veronica over to the bar. 

"Toni, this is Veronica and Archie. My very best friends!" Betty said leaning over the bar so Toni could hear her. Jughead recognized the look on Toni's face and knew what she was going to say before she even opened her mouth. 

"It is very nice to meet you Veronica. I'm sad to say Betty did not tell me just how beautiful her best friend was." Toni said, licking her lips and leaning slowly over the bar the kiss Veronica on the hand. "Oh and, nice to meet you Arch." She added after the fact. 

"Elizabeth Cooper you did not tell me the Serpents allowed beautiful women into the club. Looks like you've got your work cut out for you tonight Archie." Jughead's eyes were nearly popping out of his head at Veronica's response. Archie on the other hand was just shaking his head laughing. 

Looking over at Betty she gestured for him to bend down so she could tell him something. "Veronica is bisexual. Her and Archie have sort of an open agreement that she can hook up with a certain amount of women a year. It may seem strange but it works for them." She whispered in his ear. 

"Whatever makes them happy." He replied back, being sure to bring his lips as close to her ear as possible. 

"Alright, time for shots!" Veronica yelled out as they all took a shot from her. After a brief toast they threw back the shots and before he had even put his shot glass down Toni was filling more up as Veronica handed them out. It was clear tonight was going to be a wild ride, but as long as he was here with Betty, he was down for anything. 

About two hours later Betty, Veronica, and Toni were up on stage singing the best rendition of Shania Twains 'Man I Feel Like A Woman' he had ever heard. They were drunk. Veronica had insisted they all keep taking shots, though Jughead stopped after three, using the excuse of needing to be somewhat sober to run the bar. The truth was he just didn't enjoy getting shit faced. 

He and Archie leaned against the bar facing the stage laughing and cheering as the three girls sang out. This was the third song Veronica had roped them into singing and it just kept getting better. He caught Betty's eyes and felt his breath leave his chest. Even drunk, stumbling over her words up on stage, she was beautiful. She was wearing a pair of tight fashionably ripped skinny jeans and a plaid shirt that Veronica had made her tight up before they got on stage, exposing a bit of her stomach. Her hair was down in lose waves and she looked so unbelievably sexy it was killing him. 

"So Jug, whats going on with you and Betty?" Archie asked, seemingly out of nowhere. The girls had started on their fourth song, Bon Jovi's 'Living on a Prayer'. 

"What do you mean man?" Jughead asked, feigning confusion. Him and Betty had done their best to keep whatever it was going on between them a secret. 

"Come on dude. First of all, I've known Betty since we were like, fucking 10 or something, and I've never seen her look at any dude like she looks at you. Shit, for a while when she was still dorming with us at Columbia I thought for sure she was either gay or asexual because she never looked in any guys direction, no matter how hard they tried." He paused to take a sip of his beer. "Of course then Ronnie and I come home early from a weekend vacation and found Betty riding some dude's cock on the living room cou-..." 

"Fuck dude. I get the point." Jughead cut him off. He had no desire to hear about Betty being with some other guy. Logically he knew she had a sexual past, just like he did, but it's not something he actively wanted to hear about. 

"I'm just saying!" Archie defended, laughing. "Not for nothing though, you haven't taken your eyes off of her either." 

Jughead shot him a sideways glance, taking a swig of his own beer. 

"I plead the fifth." He replied flatly, unable to hide the smirk on his face. 

"I fuckin knew it." Archie said, lightly shoving Jughead's arm before settling back down. " Just be careful dude." He continued in a thoughtful tone. 

"Be careful?" He asked curiously. 

"Yea, I mean, I don't know what's going through Betty's head, but what happens after this month is over and the story is done?" Archie asked nonchalantly. 

Jughead couldn't deny that the thought had crossed his mind. Sure, the sex with Betty was mind blowing, and fun, but he'd be lying to himself if he didn't admit there was something more there. Some kind of feelings, at least on his end. He took another long swig of his beer, finishing it off and placing it on the bar before responding to Archie. 

"We're just having fun dude. No worries." He said, patting Archie on the back in a friendly manner. "I'm gonna step outside real quick." 

Jughead stepped out onto the wide porch of the Whyte Whyrm. The cool summer air was both sobering and a gentle reminder that he was more buzzed then he had previously thought. Inside he could hear the sound of a man's voice, off tune, singing some Kiss song he vaguely recognized and figured the girls were finally done. 

He sat back down on one of the benches and rested his feet up on the porch banister. It was nights like these he missed smoking. He had quit about two years ago, per Jellybeans request, but right now he wanted nothing more. What was going to happen after the month was over? He knew better then to think that Betty would ever be interested in moving back to Riverdale. She had fled from here five years ago, with good reason, and though she hadn't run into her mom yet, he knew that she knew there was always that risk. He feared it too. He wondered what Alice Cooper looked like. Did she have Betty's same soft features or midnight blue eyes? He didn't think it was possible that anyone that looked like Betty could be that evil. 

Maybe they were just having fun. Although, in the middle of the night when Betty would jump awake from a nightmare and he would hold her close, whispering that she was safe and no one could hurt her now, it didn't feel like just fun. He had feelings for her. Real, raw, feelings that he had never felt for any other woman. There had been glimpses of it here and there, but it never lasted. He would eventually get bored or they would do something that annoyed him and he would be over it. So far there didn't seem to be anything Betty did or said they he didn't find himself utterly enthralled in. 

Just then the doors to the Whyrm opened and Betty came walking out. 

"There you are." She said, smiling as she walked over to him. "I've been looking for you."

* * *

The cool summer breeze blew across Betty's skin and she felt goosebumps come to rise all over. She was drunk, much more then she had intended to be, which was a common occurrence when her and Veronica got together, but she didn't care. She was having the best time. 

"Here." Jughead said, as he shook off his leather jacket, sliding over Betty's shoulder. She slipper her arms in and closed her eyes, taking in the warmth that was still present from his body. 

"Thank you." She said sweetly. "So what are doing out here all by yourself?" She asked, curiously. 

"Just thinking." He replied quickly. 

"Thinking bout what?" She was sensing something odd from him but in her drunkin state it was hard to read. 

"Nothin important. You wanna head back in?" He asked, standing up. 

"Wait. Come here." Betty looked around, before grabbing his hand and pulling to the side of the building, away from any prying eyes. She leaned herself against the wall and pulled him into her. "Kiss me." She pleaded. 

Closing her eyes and turning her head up toward him, she stood awaiting the feel of his lips on hers, but it never came. She opened her eyes to find Jughead's ice blues piercing into her. "What's wrong Jughead?" Her heart was racing. Had she done something wrong? Was this too much, too out in the open? Before her thoughts could continue he leaned down and planted a hard needy kiss on her mouth. He tasted like alcohol and need and she felt her insides nearly melt at that contact. She wanted more but before she could make that move he pulled away.

"What are we doing Betty?" Jughead asked, with a breathy nervous tone.

"I thought were making out." Betty answered sarcastically.

"No Betty. I don't mean now, I mean in general. What is this?" He asked, moving his hand between the two of them.

Betty stood frozen, suddenly nervous her legs might give out from underneath her. It's not like she hadn't thought about what was happening between them. In fact she thought about it all the time. She had never felt this way about a guy and more importantly she had never wanted to feel this way about a guy. She kept everyone at an arms distance because somewhere deep inside her mind the voice of Alive Cooper still lurked, whispering to her how she was worthless and no one would ever love her. As long as there was no one, the voices were quiet. 

"I... I don't know Jug." She answered in a stutter. "I know we're having fun and..." 

"So this is just fun for you? Making love and telling each other our darkest secrets, it's just fun?" He was angry but she had no idea where the anger had come from. She watched as he ran a hand through his hair, momentarily disturbing his beanie. "It's just for the story huh? Just trying to get as close to your subject as possible I guess." His words left his mouth and lingered in the air like a toxic gas that started to fill her lungs, making her stomach quiver and jump. 

Betty wasn't sure if it was his words or the alcohol or maybe both but she did know that if she didn't make it to the stairs that led off the porch she was going to vomit all over Jughead shoes. Throwing his jacket off of her and making a run for it, she landed on her knees at the edge of the porch, the contents of her stomach making a violent exit. 

"Shit, Betty." Jughead ran up next to her and began holding her hair back. "It's okay." He was rubbing circles on her back and she wanted to scream. 

"Get the fuck off of me Jughead." She spat, rising from the steps and trying to move away from him. Instead she tripped, and landed on her hands and knees a few feet away from him. Tears began to sting her eyes and she felt the tense involuntary need to curl her fingers inward. 

"Stop it Betty. You're going to fucking hurt yourself. Let me help you." He was using the same voice he used to command the Serpents and it only pissed her off more. 

"If you want to help me then just leave me the fuck alone." She said quietly. Her stomach ached to empty itself more, her knees burned from where she has skidded them on the ground, and her palms were probably bloody from the gravel scrapping again them as she caught herself, but she didn't care. She would rather stay right in this position then let Jughead help her.  _This is why you don't let people in_ she thought to herself. 

Suddenly she was being lifted up. Jughead had picked her up and was carrying her like a baby back to the Whyrm. She tried to squirm and shake to get free of his grip, but with every movement her stomach lurched and she knew that while she may be angry with him, she still didn't want to throw up on him. 

"You can squirm all you want Cooper. I'm not putting you down until we get inside my apartment." He said flatly. Giving up, for now, she locked her arms around his neck and placed her head on his chest. At least in this position the world stopped spinning for a moment. She closed her eyes and it was almost as if she could fall asleep. 

She could faintly hear Veronica's voice.

"Oh my god, is she okay?" She was talking to Jughead. 

"She vomited all over the steps outside. I think it's time to call it a night. Yous are welcome to stay as late as you need to, I'll have one of my guys follow you home so I know you get there safely. Hey Fangs." He called in the opposite direction. She could hear Fangs approach. "When Archie and Veronica go to leave, you follow them to their hotel and let me know they made it there safely." 

"No problem boss." Fangs said, walking back to where he was. 

"You don't have to do that man, I stopped drinking almost an hour ago." Archie said. 

"It's no problem. That's why Fangs is here. He's doesn't drink so he's the perfect man for the job. I'll see you both tomorrow." 

"Absolutely. We'll grab Pop's around 10 and then bring you both breakfast!" Veronica spoke.

She could feel Jughead nod in agreement. The music seemed to get quiet as they walked up the stairs and down the short hall to his apartment. Once inside she opened her eyes for a second and saw that he was headed toward the bedroom. 

"Jug. Toilet. Now." He manage to get her there just in time before her she emptied the rest of the contents of her stomach.

* * *

Jughead sat at the edge of his bed and watched while Betty slept soundly. After she had thrown up for the last time he managed to get her into the shower, having to get in himself, so he could wash her. She cried nearly the whole time, whispering how sorry she was for him having to take care of her. After the shower he cleaned off her knees and palms, cringing at the fact that there would be more scars, ones that were his fault. 

His mind flashed back to earlier, right before she had gotten sick, and what he had said to her. The words felt like venom as they left his mouth and he had instantly wished he could take them back. When it came to feelings and relationships Jughead had no experience and the worst role models. He used to watch his parents fight while holding Jellybean as close as he could under his bed when he was little. They would scream and curse and throw things at each other and the wall. There seemed to be no limit to the kinds of terrible things they would say to each other and when his mom decided to up and leave, that was probably the only silver lining; he wouldn't have to hear them fight anymore. 

He had always vowed that he would never find himself in that kind of relationship. He would never talk to someone the way his parents had talked to each other. Yet tonight, standing out on the very porch he watched them fight on a thousand times, he had dealt Betty a low blow that she didn't deserve. The shame he felt was indescribable. 

It was nearly 4am and Betty had been asleep for the last 3 hours. He couldn't sleep though. He couldn't bring himself to even lay down next to her, feeling as though he had no right. After what he had said to her he'd be surprised if she even stayed around to finish the story. Deciding that sitting here wasn't going to help, he made his way out to the balcony, stopping in the kitchen to grab the emergency pack of cigarettes and a lighter he had stashed away. 

He sat down on the wicker chair, taking a cigarette from the pack, bringing it to his lips and lighting it. As he inhaled the toxic smoke he felt his entire body relax. He figured just one wouldn't hurt, and Jellybean would never find out. Staring out at the distant New York City skyline he couldn't help but think about Betty and the feelings he had for her. They had only known each other a week and in that time he had told her more about his life, given her more of himself, then he had ever done with any other person. Hell even Toni didn't know a lot of what he had told Betty in the dark comfort of his bedroom while they held each other close. Was it possible to feel this strongly for someone this quickly. 

"Juggy?" Betty's voice broke through his thoughts as she peaked her head out of the door of the balcony. 

"Hey." Was all he could manage. 

She was wrapped in his sheets as she came to sit next to him. He followed her eyes to the cigarette in his hand. "I didn't know you smoke." 

"I don't. At least not for the last 2 years." He explained. She raised her eye brows and nodded in understanding before sitting back and peering out to the skyline. 

The silence grew between them while Jughead finished his cigarette. He wasn't sure what to say. He wanted to apologize for his harsh words but he also still needed to know what they were. Before he could speak, she spoke for him. 

"I don't let people in." She started, though she wasn't looking at him. She kept her gaze focused forward. "Whenever I start to get close to someone, I hear my mothers voice in my head, reminding me that I'm worthless, that I don't deserve the affection or the attention from said person. So I push people away and I don't let them in, at least not emotionally." She paused, turning to look him directly in the eye. "Yes, having sex with you is fun. Sex in general is fun and I love to do it, but no, I don't sleep with all of my subjects and I damn sure don't ever let anyone in the way I have let you in." She turned her head back to the sky when she was finished. 

Jughead felt his heart twist. "Betty I am so sorry about what I said earlier. I had absolutely no fucking right." He leaned forward, angling his body toward her wanting so much to reach out and touch her. "I don't let people in either Betty. Not so much because I'm scared to, but mostly because I don't really know how. I have zero experience in matters of the heart. I guess I just needed some kind of clarification on where we were headed or what we were doing." He thought back to Archies words earlier, about what happens after this month is over. 

Betty looked at him just then, her eyes seeming to grow softer, for which Jughead was thankful. She reached her hand out and cupped his face and he leaned into her touch. "I can't give you the answers to your question because I myself don't have them. Whatever this is, it's new for both of us and we are both just figuring it all out. All I know is the thought of waking up without you by my side, like I did just a few minutes ago, sounds ridiculously painful and I just don't want to do it. So please, come back to bed with me." She said pleadingly. 

Jughead couldn't have said no even if for some out of this world reason he wanted to. Without any hesitation he stood up, scooped her into his arms, and made his way into the bedroom. This was the first night since Betty had started sleeping in his bed that they didn't make love, and so far it was the best night yet. The slept soundly, tangled in each other, and when the morning came they were so deeply asleep neither of them heard all the missed calls from Archie and Veronica who had brought them breakfast. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These chapters just keep getting longer and longer I swear! I apologize of the lack of smut, it makes a return in the next chapter! 
> 
> I hope you guys like the strange direction I'm going with Veronica and Archie. I love Varchie buy I love the idea of Veronica and Toni almost just as much soooo.... we'll see where it goes! 
> 
> Leave some comments and tell me what you think!


	10. Chapter 10

"Earth to Betty. Are you even listening to me?" Veronica's voice rang out as she snapped her fingers in front of Betty's face. 

The two sat in a booth at the Whyte Whyrm enjoying the Pop's breakfast that her and Jughead were supposed to eat with them much earlier this morning. Now however, it was just her and Veronica. Archie was off visiting his dad and Jughead had taken off to attend to some club business. Had it not been for Veronica's presence, Betty probably would have joined him. 

"Shit, yea sorry. I'm a total space case today." She replied, and she wasn't lying. Her and Jughead hadn't gotten out of bed until almost noon and since then she had found herself struggling to stay alert and in the moment. Maybe it was all the intense emotion from the night before or maybe it was just that she was still tired and hungover. 

"Understandable. I still can't believe you threw up on the steps. It was quite a show watching Sweet Pea attempt to clean it up though. He was gaging and making the worst faces." Veronica laughed. 

Betty's face flashed hot and she dropped her head to the table. "Oh my god I can't believe someone had to clean that up. I'm never drinking again." 

"You say that every time. Remember Freshman year at CU when you threw up all over Archie after we thought it would be a great idea to start drinking at, what, 10am?!" 

Betty laughed. Her, Veronica, and Archie had had some pretty crazy times back in their early college days. Not all of them were fond memories, but for the most part, it was all good fun. 

"I was a mess back then." Betty said softly, a half smile on her face. 

"No no, dear Betty. You were finding yourself. Experiencing life without Mommy Dearest for the first time." Veronica never referred to Alice Cooper by her name, if she referred to her at all. It was something Betty loved about her. 

"Yes well I am not that girl now and I should know how to hold my alcohol. I think it was the excitement of the night that did it." Betty lied. Ultimately it had been Jughead's harsh words that had turned her stomach, though she didn't feel like explaining that to Veronica right now. 

"Makes total sense. Which brings me to my next point." She paused, taking a sip of her cola. "How do you feel about a much more low key night tonight? I'm thinking movies, snacks, board games. Family fun night style like we used to do back in the day!" 

Betty instantly perked up. Some of her favorite memories with Veronica and Archie were the four of them, gathered in front of the TV watching shitty movies and binging on the worst snacks. Sometimes they would even play board games. She would spend most of the night laughing so hard her stomach hurt. 

"Omg V that sounds perfect! We'll have to convince Jughead to let us raid his movie collection, he literally has a whole wall of movies, well over 100!" She said excitedly. 

"Why don't we just invite him? We'll make it a foursome!" Veronica said with a wink. 

"Oh, I- I don't know if Jughead will want to-..." She stuttered. 

"Don't know if I'll want to what?" Jughead asked, suddenly standing beside the table. His voice made Betty jump, causing her to bang her elbow on the table. 

"Ouch!" She said quietly, gripping her elbow. 

"I was just telling Betty here that we should invite you to movie night. Back in college we used to lock ourselves in our dorm on Friday and Saturday nights, when everyone else was out partying, and just eat the worst food and watch the worst movies. It was a blast." Veronica said waving her hand around. "Betty was just trying to tell me she didn't think you'd be interested but honestly I just know she's wrong. Your whole personality screams loner home body so I just know a night like this is right up your alley." 

It wasn't often that Veronica surprised Betty. In fact, her blunt, no nonsense personality was something Betty absolutely loved about Veronica. However, right now Betty wished more then anything she could reach over and shove the rest of her Pop's burger in Veronica's mouth to get to shut up. Jughead didn't seem as phased by it though. 

"You've read me well Veronica. I'm definitely in." He said before turning to Betty. "Right now though, Betty I was hoping I could steal you a way for a bit." He asked hesitantly. 

Betty turned to Veronica who was already starting to pack up her stuff. "Duty calls and I've got to get back to the hotel before Archie starts worrying that I've run off with your gorgeous bar tender." She was making eyes across the room at Toni and Betty couldn't help but laugh. 

"I'll see you and Archie back here late then V?'' 

"Of course! How's 8 sound? Actually let's make it 9. I'm feeling a bubble bath when I get back and lord knows they can take forever." Veronica said as she leaned in to hug Betty and Jughead, respectively. 

As Veronica headed toward the door Betty followed Jughead to the bar. His face was tense and he kept checking his phone as if he was waiting for a phone call. Betty couldn't help but notice the sexy tensing of his jaw and the way he seemed to lick his lips and flare his nostrils in frustration. She hadn't even noticed that she had been staring. 

"Take a picture blondie, it'll last longer." Sweet pea teased walking up behind Jughead, startling her a bit. Jughead looked at her with a smirk and she felt her face flush red hot. 

"Leave her alone Pea." Toni said from behind the bar and he just rolled his eyes. 

"We ready boss?" Sweet Pea said, his tone completely changing to a more serious one. 

"Yea we will meet you outside in a second. Grab Fangs." Jughead responded, matching Sweet Pea's tone.

Betty wasn't quite sure what was going on and almost as if he was reading her mind, Jughead turned to her. "You'll probably want to change into a pair of jeans." He said, discreetly running a finger against her thigh that elicited a low sigh form her. She had been wearing out off shorts. "And grab your camera. We're headed to the hospital again." 

"Megan?" Betty asked with a sadness. 

"No." Jughead let out a sigh. "A different girl. This must be the month of assholes hitting their wives." He grunted. 

Betty shook her head and took in a deep breath. "Just give me five minutes." She said as she headed toward her apartment. 

After changing and grabbing her camera and hoodie, Betty was seated on the back of Jughead's motorcycle as they made their way to the hospital. If she was being honest, this was her second favorite place to be, the first one being his arms. She didn't think she would ever tire of the free feeling of the wind blowing against her face, the warmth of Jughead's body pressed against her as she held on tightly, and the strong vibration of the motorcycle between her legs. She had to continuously remind herself where they were headed as not to get to lost in thought or too aroused. 

They entered the hospital, just as they had done before, to find Shelly standing at the nurses station. She was as calm and collected as she always seemed and Betty wondered for a moment how this woman did it. How did she witness the horrible things all these women went through day after day and not look stressed and upset constantly. Just thinking about it made Betty want to curl her fingers into her palms, though she resisted. 

Jughead approached Shelly, and like always, she pulled him into a hug. Betty noticed, however, she did not greet the rest of the Serpents the same way. "I want to warn you all, this woman is in bad shape. Her husband came home in the middle of the night after being on a 2 day bender and..." Shelly paused to take a breath. Perhaps this job did get to her. "Let's just say this is one of the worst cases of domestic violence I have ever seen." 

"We don't need to go back and see her if you think that's too much Shelly." Jughead spoke. 

"No. I want you all to see it." She gestured to all of them, making a point to make eye contact with Betty. "I need you to see it, to know how real it is." 

They all followed Shelly back to the hospital room. It was one of the 4 rooms that had a door, instead of just curtain. These were rooms usually dedicated to the more serious situations and Betty felt her stomach turn. 

They entered the room and Betty had to place a hand over her mouth to stop the sound from leaving her throat. She immediately felt Jughead's hand grip hers and squeeze lightly, in a reassuring way. Betty's eyes took in the girl before her. She was completely unconscious. She had two swollen black eyes, one of which was swollen completely shut. Her neck was littered with purple bruises in the clear shape of a hand. Her left arm was wrapped in a cast and then placed in a sling, a clear indication something was broken. There was blood everywhere, on her face, her clothes and for a second Betty even thought her hair was covered in blood as well. She stared and after a few moments a sudden realization hit her. The girls hair was not covered in blood. It was red, strikingly so. It was the red she would have recognized from ten miles away. 

"Cheryl?" Betty choked out stepping forward. 

The broken and battered girl that lay in the hospital bed before her was very clearly none other then Cheryl Blossom. Betty, Veronica, and Archie had gone to school with her and while they weren't as close as her and Veronica, Cheryl had still been one of her best friends. After Cheryl's brother was murdered their Sophomore year the once pretentious ice cold girl, had changed, softened after Betty and Veronica found her having a panic attack in the girls locker room after a football game one night, and they had been friends ever since. They lost contact the minute Betty left Riverdale though. 

"Cheryl Clayton. You know her Betty?" Shelly asked. 

"Y-Yes. We went to high school together. She was one of my best friends..." She felt the tears stinging her eyes as she held onto Cheryl's hand, confused by the last name. "Clayton? Her last name is Blossom..." She stopped suddenly recognizing the last name. "Chuck Clayton?" 

"Yes that's her husbands name, the one who did this." 

"Cheryl married Chuck fucking Clayton?" Betty felt the anger rising in her gut. 

In high school Chuck Clayton had been one of the biggest assholes Betty had ever come into contact with. He had started a vicious rumor about Veronica after taking her on a date after she first moved here. It had lead to Betty and Veronica becoming best friends and them finding out Chuck had done this to a lot of girls. She knew him and Cheryl had hooked up and dated briefly, but the idea that in the last five years they had gotten married blew her mind. Cheryl Blossom came from money, and lots of it. Chuck wasn't exactly poor but his dad owned a used car dealership and that just didn't scream good breeding when it came to what she expected Cheryl's family to approve of. 

She felt Jughead's hand on her shoulder. She hadn't realized she was crying and suddenly noticed her finger nails were buried deep in the skin on her palms. She stuffed her hands into her pockets to hide them. 

"They married about 3 years ago, after the birth of their son, Jason. He's safe, with her family right now." Shelly explained. 

"Where can we find this Chuck Clayton?" Jughead asked. 

"That's where it gets tricky. Apparently Chuck works for Cheryl's father, and the family would rather this be handled by them." Shelly explained with anger in her tone. "Her parents refused to even come to the hospital. How any self respecting parent would chose.." Shelly stopped herself. "Anyway, I am not so inclined to let them handle this as I know from experience that more or less means it will be swept under the rug. This would be the fifth time this year that Cheryl has been to the hospital because of Chuck and it needs to stop now." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a piece of paper, handing it Jughead. "This is where Chuck is usually seen around town." 

"Don't worry Shelly, we will find this asshole." Jughead spoke, his hand still firmly on Betty's shoulder. 

She was still silently crying as she stared at her friend. How could this happen? 

They all made their way back out to the main lobby. "Have you been able to locate Megan's husband? John?" 

"Unfortunately no. I'm thinking he may have skipped town." Jughead explained. 

"Well, I guess for now that's good enough. She's doing great at the shelter. I've got a few job interviews lined up for her with the hopes of getting her back on her feet without him." 

"I'm glad to hear it." Jughead said. "I'll let you know when we locate Chuck Clayton Shelly." 

They exchanged goodbye hugs and Shelly went back to Cheryl's hospital room. 

Betty was just beginning to catch her breath from crying. She wasn't normally an overly emotional person, at least not on the surface. Years of abuse from her mother had taught her to keep her emotions in check, or at the very least, hide them. But seeing Cheryl lying in that hospital bed had shook her to the core. This story she was chasing was quickly becoming more and more personal, in more then one aspect and she really didn't know what to make of it. 

Suddenly Betty heard a familiar voice that caused the hairs on the back of her neck to stand up and her blood run cold.  _It couldn't be_ she thought. She turned, slowly, in the direction from which the voice was coming, willing it not to bed true. There, walking down the hallway in her direction, talking to a nurse, was a woman who Betty only saw in her nightmares these days. Only she looked older, thinner, maybe even sicker. Her hair was thin, smoothed back in a low pony tail and her skin was pale and cold looking. The woman's eyes met Betty's and it was as if she was stuck, frozen, caught in the gaze of this nightmare come to life. 

"Elizabeth?" The woman said harshly, standing not more then 5 feet from her. 

"Mother." Betty choked out, her nails now dug in deeper then ever before. She was sure the pockets of her hoodie were probably covered in blood at this point but Betty couldn't stop if she wanted to. 

The woman made a move to step forward and without telling her brain to do so, Betty stepped back, bumping into Jughead. The contact of his body on her seemed to jolt her back to reality and before she knew it was running in the opposite direction, out the door, toward his bike and away from the nightmare she had just stood face to face with. 

* * *

Jughead wasn't sure what to do. He stood there staring at the woman who Betty had just called mother. She looked different then he expected, not nearly as menacing. 

The woman went to take step forward, as if to follow Betty out and instinctively Jughead out a hand up. "No." Was all he said and she backed away as he turned to follow Betty out. 

She was standing next to his bike, her hands on her knees. There were tears streaming down her face but it almost appeared like she wasn't breathing and for a moment he got scared. "Betty!" He said, a little more loudly then he intended. She snapped up straight and his eyes immediately went to her knees, were her hands had just been. There was blood on her jeans, clearly from her palms, and when his eyes moved to her hands they were curled in the tightest fists he had ever seen. He felt his insides twist in painful ways. 

He took her face in his hands, looking into her eyes, trying to pull her out of whatever was happening in her head. "Betty. Betty breath. Look at me." He pleaded. 

He was all to aware of Sweet Pea and Fangs, standing not to far behind him, unsure of what to do but he didn't care. Realizing he was not going to get through to her here, still in such close proximity to her mother, he reached over and put the helmet on her head determined to get her out of here as fast as he could. He placed his helmet on and straddled his bike. He leaned over and pulled Betty on the bike in front of him, leaving her legs to straddle him and leaning her into his chest. He knew it wasn't the safest, but she was small and he could manage, especially since he didn't trust her to be able to hold on behind him. 

He waited for a short moment while Sweet Pea and Fangs got settled on their bikes before pulling out. He rode faster then he should have, but he knew these streets better then anyone and his main priority was to get Betty back to the Whyrm and safe. 

Once they pulled up outside he scooped Betty off of his bike and carried her inside right up to his apartment, ignoring the stares from everyone. Once inside he placed her on the couch. Her face was blank and her breathing way to heavy as tears streamed down her face and her nails dug into her palms. He kneeled on the floor in front of her, taking her face in his hands, pleading with her to come back to him. It wasn't working and he was starting to panic. 

He stood up, fishing his phone from his pocket and finding Archie's number, hoping it was still the same. It rang twice before he answered. 

"Hey Jug whats up?" Archie said casually when he answered. 

"Is Veronica with you?" He asked in a rush. 

"Yea she's right here whats-"

"Put her on. Now!" Jughead cut him off. He wasn't meaning to be rude but this was urgent. 

He heard Archie hand the phone to Veronica. "Jug, what's going on?" Veronica said with concern. 

"It's Betty. We were at the hospital, for Serpent business and..." He paused glancing over to her. "She ran into her mom."

He heard Veronica gasp. "Her mother?" Veronica's voice was almost a shriek. 

"Yes. I brought her back to the Whyrm but Veronica she's in bad shape. It's almost like she..." He trailed off not even knowing how to describe what he was witnessing. 

"I'm on my way Jughead." Was all Veronica said before hanging up. 

Jughead knelt down in front of Betty again with his hands on her knees softly pleading with her to come back to him. His heart ached seeing her like that. Her hands were clenched so tight his effort to pry them open was useless and he could see the blood seeping out. The whole situation brought him right back to when he walked in on Jellybean that day with a blade to her arm and he wanted to scream. 

Not even ten minutes later Veronica and Archie came bursting through the door with Sweet Pea hot on their tail. "Boss I tried to stop them but-" 

"It's fine. Go back downstairs Sweet Pea." Jughead cut him off without looking at him. 

Veronica rushed over to Betty, taking a seat right beside her, while Archie stood back, not saying a word. "You have a tub right?" She asked Jughead. 

"Yes." He replied, somewhat confused. 

"Go start a bath. Hot water, as hot as you can stand it." She said not looking at him. He watched for a moment as Veronica took Betty into her arms and soothed her hair back away from her face, simply shushing her. She laid her hands on Betty's fists, making no effort to stop her clenching, simply just placing them there. "Go!" She said, this time looking at him. 

Jughead rushed off to the bathroom and turned on the water to as hot as he could stand it like Veronica had instructed. While it filled he went and grabbed some towels. 

"It's filled." He said coming over to where Veronica and Betty were. 

"Okay help me get her into the bathroom." Veronica's voice was calm and collected, as if she had done this before. Jughead picked Betty up and simply carried her there. Once in the bathroom Veronica instructed him to sit her on the toilet and start undressing her. 

"Um, are, are you sure?" He hesitated. 

"Please don't take me for some kind of idiot Jones. I know you've already seen her naked, multiple times, and no she didn't tell me. I just know my best friend. Just get her undressed please." Veronica said as she herself started to undress. "And don't you dare sneak a peek at these goods." 

He felt his face flush as he quickly undressed Betty, wincing at just how bad her palms were bleeding now. Once Veronica was in the tub she instructed him to lower Betty in as she covered herself. Once Betty was in, Veronica wrapped her entire body around Betty, slowly easing Betty's hands into the water. He watched in amazement as Betty's fists suddenly unclenched. It was if the warm water, and Veronica's motherly touch was soothing her and chasing away whatever was going on in her head. Veronica carefully cupped water and ran it over Betty's body, shushing her and telling her she was safe and nothing and no one was going to hurt her. The sight made Jughead eye's sting with tears. 

"She's okay Jughead. I got it from here. Go back out there with Archie." Veronica said softly. 

He stepped out of the bathroom and closed the door behind him, staring wide eyed at Archie. 

"Come on man, they will be in there for a while. Let's go get a beer." Archie said, and Jughead followed him. 

About a half hour later Jughead and Archie sat at the bar in silence. Jughead's mind was running in overdrive trying to make sense of what had happened. He finished his second beer before letting out a long sigh. 

"Has this happened to Betty before? Her just like, shutting down the way she did?" He asked Archie. 

Archie kept his gaze forward and Jughead watched as he closed his eyes tightly, as if remembering something painful. "Yes, more times then I'd care to remember." 

"And the bath thing?" 

Archie cleared his throat before turning to Jughead. "Veronica has been doing that with her since the first time, after we moved into our dorm at CU." He closed his eyes again, as if even the memory of it was causing him physical pain. Jughead remained quiet, knowing that Archie was about to continue. "We had been at CU for about 3 weeks. Our dorm was more of a small two bedroom apartment, thanks to Veronica's parents. Betty's room was right across the hall from ours and one night, in the middle of the night, we woke up to the sound of Betty screaming. I'll never get that sound out of my head. We rushed in and she was huddled in the corner, with that same blank stare she had today, just trembling. Ronnie and I already knew about the thing she does to her palms, but this was different. We tried prying her hands open, that didn't work. We trying shaking her out of it, that didn't work. I was about to call 911 when Veronica just suddenly ran off the bathroom and turned on the water. I had no idea what she was doing but I just took her lead anyway. She had me carry Betty in and we undressed her and put her in the tub and out of nowhere Veronica got in with her. It was instant, the relief we saw on Betty's face. They stayed like that for almost 3 hours, until we completely ran out of hot water and they were shivering. Every time it happened after that, sometimes in the middle of the day sometimes at night after a nightmare, we went straight to the tub. It started working quicker and quicker. It stopped happening after like a year, probably because of Betty going to therapy and getting on medication. But I will never forget that first night." Archie swallowed hard, like he was fighting back tears before taking a long swig of his beer. 

"I felt fucking useless kneeling before her. It's like she didn't even see that I was there." Jughead said softly. 

"She didn't. She won't remember it." 

Jughead looked at him. "Really?" 

"Yea. Her therapist told her that's it's something called disassociation. I guess when something happens that triggers such a strong emotional response, her brain kind of shuts itself off to protect her. I don't know if I'm explaining that right, Betty would better to ask." 

Just then Veronica came down and made her way over to the bar, wrapping her arms around Archies waste. Jughead looked at her in a whole new light. This was Betty's best friend and she was a damn good one. 

"She's asleep in your bed. She'll probably sleep for a few hours and then wake up starving." She said to Jughead before turning to Archie. "Why don't we go finish our errands and then we can pick up some Pop's and bring it back here for tonight. Betty will need us." 

"Of course babe. That sounds like a perfect plan." Archie said as he kissed Veronica's forehead. 

"We'll be back in a couple of hours dude." Archie said as he pulled Jughead into a hug. He held him there for a moment longer then usual and Jughead felt a lump form in throat. 

"See you then." He replied quickly. 

Veronica turned to Jughead, "She's going to need her hands wrapped up. They are bad." She said flatly, and he simply nodded an okay as they turned to leave. 

After Veronica and Archie left he finished his beer and made his way out to the front porch of the bar where he found Sweet Pea smoking a cigarette. 

"Let me get one of those." Jughead instructed him. Sweet Pea pulled the pack and his lighter from his jacket pocket and handed them to him. 

"Never thought I'd see you smoking again. Jellybean is gonna have your ass." Sweet Pea teased as Jughead lit his cigarette and took a long drag. 

"I'm not and she's not because you're gonna keep your mouth shut." Jughead warned playfully. 

Sweet Pea chuckled before returning the pack and lighter to his pocket. "So how long have you been in love with Blondie?" He asked bluntly. 

Jughead choked on his smoke a bit. "What are you talking about?" 

"So that's what you're going with? Denial?" 

"Again I ask, what are you talking about?" Jughead said, not meeting Sweet Pea's gaze. 

"Come on dude. I've known you for like, forever, and not once have I ever seen you so much as look in another girls direction let alone care for them the way you clearly do Betty. I mean we all know you guys are sleeping together but after today, man you are gone for her." Sweet pea shook his head as he took a drag of his cigarette. 

"Shut up." Was all Jughead said as he got up, not bothering to finish his smoke before he flicked it away. "What are you even doing sitting out here. Go find that Chuck Clayton asshole." He said as he turned to walk back inside. 

"You got it boss." He heard Sweet Pea say with a laugh over his shoulder and he just rolled his eyes. 

He quietly made his way into his apartment not wanting to wake Betty. He took his boots off at the door and deposited his leather jacket on the back of one of the dinning room chairs. He hesitated at the door to his bedroom, unsure if he should enter or not, but he couldn't stop himself. He needed to see her, make sure she was okay. He opened the door quietly. She was laying in the middle of the bed, on her side, facing him. Her hand was stretched out in from of her and Jughead could see the wreckage she had done to her palm. There were multiple sets of four crescent mood shaped cuts that were swollen and deep with blood crusted over them. Her nails, though not long at all, had dried blood under them. Looking at his own hands, he curled his fingers inward and pressed his nails into his palms. He squeezed hard ignoring the pain until he couldn't stand it anymore. When he opened them, there was no blood, not even a cut, just small crescent indents that would probably disappear within minutes. He looked back to her palms and his breath caught in his throat. The amount of pain she must be causing herself when she does this was unfathomable he thought. His insides twisted and he couldn't help the tears that started rolling down his cheeks. 

He laid down next to her carefully, as not to wake her up. He was content to stay in this position forever, staring at her beautiful face. At some point though, his eyelids started to get heavy, and he drifted off to sleep dreaming about a happier time she was wrapped in his arms and smiling. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A few thing! My knowledge of disassociation comes from my own experience with it. What I described Betty experiencing is what i went though. I'm not a therapist though, obviously. 
> 
> Leave me a comment and tell me what you think! This chapter was hard to write but felt good to finally get out!


	11. Chapter 11

_Betty stood in her pastel pink room with an open suit case on her bed. Her hands were trembling and her heart was racing faster then it ever had before. Today would be the day._

_"Just the essentials Betty." Veronica said as she emptied Betty's entire underwear drawer into the black suit case she had brought over. The stark black of the case against Betty's soft yellow comforter was a visual reminder that this was the end. "Let's go!"_

_Betty snapped out of her thoughts and made her way to the bathroom, grabbing her tooth brush, hair brush, hair styling wands and her shower essentials. For a moment she thought how odd it was that these were things she considered essential, especially right now. Truthfully, she would leave with just the clothes on her back if she had to. These were all material things, that could eventually be replaced. Her sanity and her future, well they were the real essentials._

_Just then Archie came in. He had been standing at the front door, acting as a look out. Betty knew that her mom would be out all day and that this would be her chance to pack. Archie and Veronica had been packed for weeks, however Betty knew there was no way she could pack up anything without raising suspicion with her mother. So this was their only chance._

_"Come on guys, hurry up!" Archie said standing awkwardly at the door._

_Veronica and Betty both looked at the suitcase and took one quick glance around the room, "I think we're done. None of this stuff matters." Betty said softly._

_Archie quickly closed the case and carried it down and out to Veronica's car. Betty turned to take one last glance around her room. This had been her home for her whole life. She had shed more tears then she could count in the back of the small closet. She had hid under the bed with Polly when their mother first started to go off the hinges. Now it was going to be nothing but a distant memory and Betty was both excited and terrified._

_"Are we really doing this V? Are you guys really okay with leaving with me?" From the moment Veronica had come up with this plan Betty had felt sick. She didn't like the idea of Veronica and Archie skipping town without telling their parents. They had good parents, loving ones, but they had assured her that the three of them would do this together or not at all._

_They had all gotten their acceptance letters from Columbia University, delivered to the vacant apartments in Veronica's fancy apartment building a few weeks before and that's when the planning really took off. Veronica had known she couldn't tell her parents, and Archie couldn't tell his because Alice Cooper would get that information from them after they had left town. Veronica being the oldest of the 3, had turned 18 in the beginning of their senior year and with that came her rather large trust fund. It was enough money to set the three of them up at CU for a while. Just to be sure her parents couldn't some how take the money back after they all left, Veronica had moved nearly all of it into separate accounts for each of them, at a local bank in Jersey, so that if they did somehow find the money, they wouldn't be anywhere near them. Veronica knew eventually Archie and herself would tell their parents, but to ensure Betty's immediate safety, it just couldn't happen now._

_"Yes Betty. We are doing this and there is nowhere else in the world Archie or myself would rather be right this moment. This is it baby girl!" Veronica said, now crying, holding Betty's face between her hands."We are getting you out of here and away from Mommy Dearest, forever!"_

_"Come on guys!" Archie yelled from downstairs._

_The girls jumped at the sound of his voice, but immediately ran downstairs. Betty took one final look at the home she would never return to before climbing into Veronica's back seat. Archie pulled away from the curb, driving faster then was probably necessary but Betty didn't care. As they crossed Sweetwater River, Betty rolled her window all the way down, sticking her head out and breathing in the fresh air. It smelled like freedom, like sanity, and most of all, like safety._

* * *

 

Betty awoke to the soft sounds of Jughead breathing right next to her. For a brief moment, as she looked at him, it was as if nothing remotely terrible had happened today. It wasn't until she reached out to touch his face and felt the painful pull of the scabbed over cuts on her palm that she remembered. 

... _Cheryl... in the hospital, because of chuck... Alice... fuck, Alice..._

She laid completely still, closing her eyes, trying to remember the rest. After Alice the next thing she remembers is being in Jughead's tub with Veronica, and then Veronica helping her into bed.  _What the fuck happened_ she thought. She opened her eyes and stared at Jughead, wondering what he had seen. She looked down at her palms and couldn't help the tears that pricked in her eyes. They were bad, worse then they had been in years. 

Betty slowly slid out of Jughead's bed, making sure to not wake him. She realized she was wearing his t-shirt and a pair of his sweats. As she walked out of his room, she quickly spotted her clothes, phone, and camera on his table. She grabbed them and exited his apartment as quickly and quietly as she could, hopping she could make it across to her apartment without being seen by anyone. Thankfully there wasn't a soul in sight. 

Once back in the safety of her own apartment, Betty couldn't stop the flood gates. She slid down her down, the sobs rolling out of her uncontrollably. Alice Cooper had seen her. She now knew Betty was back in Riverdale. How long would it be before she tracked her down and what would she do when she did. Betty didn't want to think about her mom. She didn't want to think about anything. 

She stayed there on the floor for a moment before deciding to get up. She knew Veronica would be calling soon or Jughead would wake up and wonder where she went and while she could, she just wanted to be alone. Dropping her stuff on the breakfast bar, she headed straight toward the bathroom. A hot shower sounded so good. After getting the temperature exactly where she wanted it, she stepped in and let the hot water melt away everything that had happened. 

She tried to slowly replay the events in her head, willing her mind to remember everything. From what she could piece together, her and Jughead had gone to the hospital, where they met with Shelly. She had taken them to see a girl who had been badly beaten by her husband. That girl turned out to be Cheryl Blossom, and the husband was none other then Chuck Clayton. Betty felt her heart twist at the memory of Cheryl lying in that hospital bed, almost unrecognizable save for her fire red hair. She then remembers standing in the hallway with Jughead when she heard her mothers voice. Even just the memory of it made the hairs on her neck stand up and she wanted so badly to dig her fingernails into her palms, but the damage that had been done earlier, prevented her from doing so. 

She remembers her mother saying her name and her replying with a simple  _Mother_ but it's after that that everything starts to get fuzzy. She thinks she remembers running, but she can't remember to where. Logically, she knows that somehow Jughead must have gotten her back to his apartment and called Veronica and Archie. She was suddenly very grateful they had come to visit, as she didn't know what would have happened if they hadn't been there. 

After spending way to long in the shower, the water started to run cold, and Betty started to shiver. She made her way to her room, grabbing her cell phone in the process. There were 4 missed calls from Veronica. Betty sighed as she sat down her bed in her towel. She knew she couldn't avoid her after what happened, plus if she knew Veronica, which she did, she knew that tonights plans were still on. 

She quickly called Veronica back. 

"Well look who finally decided to let me know she's still alive." Veronica said as she answered the phone, not even bothering to say hello. 

"Veronica, you just called me not even 5 minutes ago. It's not like I left you waiting for hours." Betty replied, rolling her eyes. 

"Even so, you should have called right away Cooper. Anyway, Archiekins and I are about to head over to pop's to grab food for tonight. I'm guessing about now your stomach is starting to growl like a pit bull with rabies, would you like an extra burger?" 

As if on cue, Betty's stomach growled loudly and twisted with hunger pains. For some reason, after she had an episode of disassociation, she would be left feeling extremely hungry. It had been so long she had almost forgotten. "Yes, and an extra milkshake please." She replied laying a hand on her stomach. 

"Got it. Is Jughead there?" 

Betty was taken back by the request. "Um, no. Well, yea he's in his apartment. He was sleeping when I left like an hour ago. I just got out of the shower." She explained. 

"Okay I'll just call him then. I'll see you so-"

"Wait V. Um, what happened? Like I know I saw my mom and then, had an episode, but can you fill in the blanks?' Betty asked hesitantly. 

"You'll have to ask Jughead about what happened at the hospital B. All I know is he called Archies phone looking for me, said you had run into your mother and now you were pretty out of it. I knew what he meant obviously and came right over. When we got there, he was kneeling in front of you on the couch, holding your fists in his hands, whispering something. I made him run a bath and help me get you in and then he and Archie went down to the bar. I'm guessing you remember the rest." 

"Yea I do. Thank you. Um, just let me know when yous are here." Betty was holding back tears. 

"Will do." Veronica said before hanging up. 

Betty sat on the edge of her bed unable to fathom what Veronica had told her. How did Jughead manage to get her home? He helped Veronica get her into the bath, did that mean he had seen Veronica naked? Betty shook her head. Why did that even matter? 

Betty pushed all the thoughts of what had happened to the back of her head as she got dressed and dried her hair. After everything that had happened all she wanted was food, friends, and maybe a shitty movie or two. 

* * *

Jughead awoke to the sound of his phone vibrating loudly on his night stand. Realizing right away that Betty wasn't lying next to him, her frowned as he answered. 

"Hello?"

"Jughead, it's Veronica." Veronica said with more cheer then he expected. 

"Oh hey. Whats up?" 

"Just wanted to tell you that Archie and I are on our way to Pop's. I just got off the phone with Betty, she seems fine but you can never tell with that girl." Veronica said casually. 

"Okay. Good good. Um, I'm guessing she went back to her apartment. I kinda fell asleep." He explained, sitting up and running a hand through his hair. 

"Yea she was just getting out of the shower when I called her. You should go over there, fill in the missing pieces. She'll appreciate it. Anyway, see you soon." She didn't wait for him to say bye before hanging up. 

Jughead sighed, as he made his way to the balcony with his previously hidden pack of cigarettes in hand. He pulled one out, lighting it and inhaling the poison before sitting down. He scrolled through his unread text messages, finding nothing of importance before deciding to call Sweet Pea. 

"Sup boss?" Sweet Pea said as he answered. 

"Any word on Chuck Clayton yet?" 

"I was just about to head back to fill you in, but since you called. It seems the Blossoms may be hiding him." Sweet Pea explained. 

"Hiding him?" Jughead questioned, taking a long drag off his cigarette before exhaling. "What kind of fucking people hide the man that almost beat their daughter to death?" 

"The kind that have that same man knee deep in some not so legal shit. You know how we've been trying to figure out why all of a sudden there seemed to be more drugs then ever before hitting the street?" 

"We just figured it was the Ghoulies expanding their business." Jughead responded with agitation in his tone. He loathed the Ghoulies. They were a rival gang on the other side of the south side. Lesser known, and choosing not to wear identifying gang clothing, their illegal activities seemed to either go unnoticed or get blamed on the Serpents. 

"Yea well, we were wrong. Seems Cheryl's father, Clifford Blossom, basically has the Ghoulies doing all his dirty work, with Chuck Clayton taking lead." Sweet Pea sounded almost proud of himself. 

"Interesting. Should I ask how you learned all this?" Jughead knew better then to ask. 

"Let's just say the Ghoulies might act tough, but after a few broken finger they sing like a canary." He explained with a chuckle. 

Jughead shook his head. "Alright well don't do anything stupid that will put the Serpents on the Ghoulies radar. Not that I think we couldn't handle them, I'd just like to keep everything peaceful for as long as we can." 

"Of course boss. That's why I made sure not wear my cut while I broke his fingers and questioned him. They'll have no clue who did it or why." 

"You're smarter then you look Pea. Anyway, I think that's good for now. I'm gonna be kinda unavailable tonight, I mean unless it's an emergency, so you guys should take the night off and lay low. Hang out here at the bar." Jughead said. 

"No problem boss. I'll let the guys know." Sweet Pea said before hanging up. 

Jughead finished his cigarette and sat for a moment looking out at the skyline. He made a mental note to do some research on Clifford Blossom when he got a chance. He wasn't quite sure how he had never heard of the man if he was running some huge drug operation and the thought irritated him. He had chosen to take the club in a more legitimate direction, but perhaps in doing so he put himself a little to out of the loop. Shaking his head and letting out a deep sigh, he decided this was something he would need to think about later because right now all he wanted to do was go check on Betty. 

He made his way back into his apartment, stopping to quickly change his shirt and grab a clean flannel. He was about to head over when he remembered something Veronica said  _She's going to need her hands wrapped, they are bad._ Jughead cringed inwardly, remembering just how bad they were, as he headed toward the bathroom. After finding Jellybean with her wrists bleeding, he had gone out and bought a first aid kit. He had been so unprepared that he had had to wrap a t-shirt around her wrist for the ride to the hospital. He never wanted to be that unprepared again. 

With the first aid kit in hand he made his way across the hall to Betty's apartment. He stopped to take a deep breath before knocking. 

"Come in." He heard her yell through the door.

He slowly opened the door and made his way in to find her sitting at the breakfast bar just finishing up what looked like a sandwich. 

"You do know that Veronica and Archie are on their way over with burger from Pop's right?" He questioned with a playful smirk. 

"Yes but I couldn't wait." She said wiping her mouth. "What you got there?" She asked gesturing to the first aid kit in his hand. 

He held it up. "For... for your hands. Veronica said they would probably need to be bandaged up and I got this after Jellybean..." He trailed off. He was suddenly feeling like maybe this was to much for her, maybe he was pushing too much. 

He watched as she slowly peered down at her palms before letting out a sigh and holding them up to him. "Fine." She said, with her eyes closed and Jughead felt his stomach twist. 

He made quick work of laying out all the contents of the kit. "So, can I ask you a question?" He wanted to break the tension between them, make her think about something other then what he was doing. 

"Go for it." She said without opening her eyes. 

"This is gonna hurt a little." He said as he wiped her palms with an alcohol pad. She winced slightly but didn't pull away. "What do you know about Clifford Blossom, Cheryl's father?" 

She opened her eyes and looked at him, as if that was the last thing she was expecting him to ask. "I mean, not much. The Blossom's are a founding family of Riverdale and famous for their maple syrup." 

"Maple syrup?" He questioned as he applied an antiseptic ointment to her cuts. 

"That's how they made their millions. Probably billions to be honest. Have you ever been to Thronhill?" Betty asked. 

"What's Thronhill?" 

"It's where Cheryl and her family live. It's this huge, scary mansion in North Riverdale that's surrounded by their own personal grave yard for dead family members. It was built when the first Blossom's settled in Riverdale, and they've just added to it every year. In high school she would throw huge blow out party's in the west wing. The place was so big her parents could sleep right through it." She explained as he began to wrap her hands. 

"Nope never heard of it and definitely never been there." He said as he cleaned everything up. "And maple syrup is the only business the Blossom's are in?" 

"The only one that I know of. Why are you asking anyway?" She questioned. 

He rubbed the back of his neck unsure if he should tell her. On one hand, Cheryl is her friend and whatever came from this would hopefully be good for the story and paint the Serpents in a good light. On the other hand, he didn't know if she really needed to also be dealing with this right now, after today. He couldn't even imagine what might be going through her head about her mother. "No reason, just curious." He lied. He didn't like lying to her, but he could fill her in on the rest of it later, after everything from today had calmed down. 

"If you say so." Betty replied and Jughead noted her tone. She knew he was lying and he instantly felt like and idiot. "Can I ask you a question now?" 

"Sure. Anything." 

"What happened after we ran into my mother? How did I... how did you get me back here?" She asked softly. 

Jughead let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding. "Um, on my bike." As soon as he said he knew that's not what she meant. 

"Obviously. But, how? I know I wasn't in the right state of mind to hold on to you and I'm guessing you then had to carry me inside?" She asked again. 

"I sat you in front of me, facing toward me. It's not the safest, but I really didn't know what else to do. And, um, yea I carried you in. But hardly anyone was here if that's what you were worried about." He explained running a hand through his hair. 

"I wasn't worried. Then you called Archie?" 

"I tried to get you too... Yea that's when I called Archie." He said flatly. He didn't know how to explain that he had tried to get her to come back to him and to unclench her fists without possibly triggering something in her. He wasn't sure what he should or shouldn't say. 

She was about to respond when her phone rang. "Hey V." She said as she grabbed her plate and headed into the kitchen. 

Jughead stood there feeling awkward and on edge. In truth, this entire time he wanted nothing more then to pull her into his arms and kiss her. He almost ached to have her close but after what had happened he wasn't sure he should or if she would even want that. He remembered how closed off Jellybean had been for weeks after her incident and though what had happened with Betty wasn't the same, he couldn't help but feel like he needed to be careful with her. He would do anything to ensure that what she had gone through earlier today never happened again and if that meant he needed to keep his distance for a bit, he would. 

Betty came out of the kitchen, placing her phone in her back pocket. "They're here. Shall we get this night over with?" She said with an annoyed tone. 

Jughead followed her out wondering if her sudden annoyance was with him or Veronica. 

* * *

Betty was sitting in the corner of Jughead's large sectional sofa, watching as Veronica talked about high school and college, telling stories that usually would have Betty laughing until her stomach hurt. Occasionally she would look over to Jughead to find him staring at her with that same look he had earlier when he came to see her in her apartment. It was pity and she hated it. She knew he had lied when she asked him why he was asking her about the Blossom's and it instantly pissed her off. 

Now it seemed he was purposely keeping his distance. He had made a point to sit as far as he could from her, avoiding eye contact, and just in general avoiding her. With each passing minute Betty was growing angrier and angrier. To be honest, she wasn't used to this. Veronica and Archie had never pitied her. Even after her first episode they had somehow managed to wake up the next morning and treat her exactly the same. Even as they spoke to her about what had happened and insisted she get into therapy, it was pity or sorrow in their tones. It was the two people she loved the most simply telling her they loved her and she needed to get help. Until now she hadn't realized how much she had appreciated that from them. 

"Okay I have been blabbering on long enough. I say it's time we pick a movie!" Veronica said as she jumped up, pulling Betty from her thoughts. "Ladies pick first. Get up Betty." 

Betty rolled her eyes but got up and followed Veronica over to the wall of movies. 

"Want another beer Arch?" She heard Jughead ask as he made his way over to the kitchen, with Archie following behind. 

"Sure!" Archie replied. 

Betty absentmindedly looked over all the movies, not really looking at the titles. She didn't care what they ended up watching. She wanted this night to be over, to get out of this apartment where the air felt thick and tense between her and Jughead. She peered over her should, catching him looking at her again before he quickly looked away. She let out an annoyed sigh and crossed her arms over her chest. 

"Okay Betty I love you but what is with the attitude tonight?" Veronica said turning to face Betty, looking her right in the eyes. 

She hadn't expected to be called out and this knocked her down a bit. She uncrossed her arms quickly. "What attitude?" 

"The attitude you've had since we got here. Rolling your eyes, sighing in annoyance, I know you Betty, something is pissing you off. Or should I say someone.'' Veronica tilted her head in Jughead's direction. 

"He's been walking on egg shells since he came over to my apartment earlier and I hate it. I mean, I know we aren't together or anything, and I don't expect anything, but..." She trailed. 

"He's definitely keeping his distance. I noticed to. Honestly though Betty what do you expect? Archie and I, we've known you forever. I remember the first time it happened and not knowing what to do or say-" 

"But you never pitied me Veronica." Betty cut her off. 

"That's because Lodge women don't do pity. I may not have showed it Betty, but god I was scared. I wasn't sure how to act or what to say to you so I just put on a brave face and hoped it was the right thing to do. I also wasn't sleeping with you, which kind of add's an extra layer of awkward." Veronica paused, rubbing her hand up and down Betty's arms. "Look, there is no question that man had it  _bad_ for you. He may be keeping his distance but he damn sure hasn't taken his eyes off of you." 

Betty looked over at Jughead and once again caught him staring and looking away quickly. This time she couldn't help but giggle. Maybe Veronica was right, maybe she should cut him some slack. 

"Anyway, lets pick a damn movie before Archie says we've taken to long and decides we're watching Terminator for the 100th time." Veronica said rolling her eyes. 

Betty scanned the movies before she pulled one out. "Girl Interrupted?" She laughed as she held it up. 

Veronica rolled her eyes and as she pulled out two movies, _Breakfast At Tiffany's_ and  _In Cold Blood_. "We'll let them choose." Veronica laughed. 

They made there way back over to the couch where Archie and Jughead were already seated again, waiting for them. Instead of going back to her corner seat, Betty instead sat next to Jughead. He gave her a look that made her once again feel slightly annoyed but instead of rolling her eyes she just gave him a warm smile, which seemed to ease the tension considerably. 

"Okay boys, Breakfast At Tiffany's or In Cold Blood?" 

"In Cold Blood." Both Archie and Jughead said at the same time. Veronica pouted. 

"Come on V, you knew they were gonna choose that one." Betty laughed. 

"Fine." Veronica said as she popped the DVD into the player and sat down next to Archie. 

As the movie started, Betty leaned in a little closer to Jughead and after a moment of what seemed like hesitance on his part, he put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her in close. Betty breathed in his intoxicating scent and felt her stomach do a back flip. It had only been a day since she had been this close to him but she hadn't realized how much her body ached and missed him. He seemed to feel the same because after a short moment he shuffled his position a bit, pulling her legs into his lap and resting his hand on her thigh. She quickly looked over at Veronica who was smirking at her and Betty just rolled her eyes and she tried to hide a smile. 

Betty had a hard time concentrating on the movie. It wasn't that it was bad, it was that being this close to Jughead, all to aware of where their bodies touched and his hand on her thigh, turned her brain to mush. Almost without thinking, Betty moved to place her hand on his stomach. She felt his breath skip and his heart start beating faster. It seemed he was just as affected by the closeness as she was. Suddenly she wanted nothing more then to drag him into his room and let him do all sorts of things to her body. Of course with Veronica and Archie sitting not even 4 feet away, that wasn't going to happen. 

The movie ended and Betty was beyond grateful. 

"That was good movie. Not as good at the Terminator, but it was good." Archie said, as Veronica rolled her eyes. 

"Oh my god please don't tell me the Terminator is still your favorite movie Arch?" Jughead teased. 

"Damn straight it is." Archie replied with a huge smile across his face. 

"I'm guessing he forced you to watch it when you were kids?" Veronica questioned with a laugh. 

"Every damn time I slept over. And he would recite all the lines which made it even worse." 

Betty watched as Veronica peered up at Archie with a look on her face that could only be described as pure love. "Some things never change do they?" She said to Jughead, still looking up at Archie. 

He looked down at her with the same look. "Nope, they don't.'' They seemed to be caught in a love stare and Betty couldn't help but roll her eyes in annoyance.  

"Get a room you two." Betty teased. She was used to them occasionally getting lost in each others gaze, forgetting that anyone else was in the room. Usually it didn't bother her. In fact it mostly warmed her heart that they had found each other so young. Now though, for some reason all Betty felt was annoyed. A feeling she had become too comfortable with tonight. 

"Good idea Betty." Archie said still looking at Veronica. "Alright well it's been fun but I'm gonna take my girl back to out hotel room and make sweet sweet love to her." He said as he stood up, scooping Veronica into his arms as she squealed. 

"Gross." Betty said rolling her eyes for about the 100th time as Jughead just shook his head and laughed. 

"Put me down so I can give my best friend a proper goodbye." Veronica insisted. Archie carefully placed her back down on the floor as smoothed her clothing. 

"So I know we said we were only staying for the weekend, and technically this would have been our last night here, but.." Veronica paused as she placed her arms around Betty. "Archies dad basically begged us to stay longer, so we're here for another week." 

"What? Really V?" Betty didn't even try to hide her excitement. This would be the longest time they've spent together since Betty left CU. 

"Yup!" Veronica simply replied and Betty pulled her into a tight hug. 

They all said their goodbyes and Jughead walked them to the door as Betty began cleaning everything up from dinner earlier. 

"You don't have to to that." Jughead said, rubbing the back of his neck and standing further away from her then necessary. Suddenly the air felt thick and tense again and Betty felt the anger and annoyance from earlier start bubble again. 

"Yea well, it's no problem." She said curtly as she made her way to the kitchen, depositing his dishes into the sink a bit more roughly then she had meant to. "Well, I guess I'll go then." She said after a moment of silence. 

She almost expected him to tell her to stay, but when he didn't, she let out a small snort and made her way to the door. She couldn't believe this is how everything they had shared was ending and she couldn't help the tears that started to prickle at her eyes.  _This is why I don't let people in_ she thought. 

"Betty wait!" He said quickly just as she was about to open the door. For a second, she thought about ignoring him and just continuing out the door. But that's not what she wanted. 

"What?" She said, turning to face him, not bothering to hide the tears in her eyes. 

He was biting his lip and rubbing his neck and for a moment Betty thought he was going to rub the skin raw. "I just- I don't know what to say or do." He said finally. 

Betty felt her resolve soften a bit, remembering what Veronica had said earlier. "I get that Jughead. But being distant and basically avoiding me, isn't the way to go about it." 

"I wasn't avoiding you. I just didn't know if you would still want- If you still felt-" He stopped, seeming frustrated with himself. 

"Stop." Betty said as she walked toward him. "Listen, I get it. Today was insanely intense and I totally understand if you don't want to do this anymore." She said gesturing between them with her hand. 

"No Betty. That's- That's not it at all. Jesus Christ all I've wanted to do since I stepped into your apartment was to pull you into my arms I just didn't know if I should or if you would still want me to. I can't even imagine-" Betty cut him off as she crashed into him, her lips on his. It was clear that words just weren't working right now and she couldn't stop herself. 

* * *

When their lips met, it was as if the rest of the world faded away. Jughead wondered if he would ever tire of this feeling. It was indescribable and if he cold bottle it and sell it, he would.

Betty's hands found their way to the nape of his neck, entwining her fingers in his inky black hair. She pulled lightly and smiled at the moan it elicited from him. Jughead took that as his cue and slipped his hands under her thighs, picking her up and she wrapped her legs around his hips. He carried her to the bedroom, never breaking their kiss. He lowered her on the bed, moving his mouth from hers, down her neck and over her collar bone. Betty could feel the wetness begin to pull in her panties and she bucked her hips upward, trying to find relief. Even through her jeans and his she could feel his erection and it set off a fire inside of her. 

Jughead's mouth continued to move lower, as his hands palmed her breasts, squeezing them gently and rubbing his thumb over the thin material of her shirt and bra, feeling her nipples perk up underneath them. Betty let out a small moan and reached down for the hem of her shirt, pulling it over her head quickly. Once it was off he went to her breasts giving them his full attention. He pulled the cups of her bra down, letting them spill out as he caught one of her nipples in his mouth. He flicked and sucked and Betty bucked her hips upward against his hard on again. He felt himself growing impossibly hard. 

"Fuck Juggie. Touch me." She begged in a breathy tone. He bit down ever so slightly on her nipple and her hands came up to grip his hair. He moved his mouth lower and lower, dipping his tongue into her belly button and skimming it along the waistband of her jeans. He unbuttoned her jeans with his mouth, his hands still firmly on her breasts rolling her nipples between his thumb and index finger. He slid his hands slowly down her sides, hooking his fingers in her jeans and swift yanking them off. He let out a low growl at the sight of her pink lace panties, a visible wetness building right at her core. 

He stood up, staring down at her as he removed his t-shirt. "Touch yourself." He whispered as he slowly unbuttoned his pants. 

Betty bit her lip as she brought her hand up to her breast, playing with her nipple for a moment before moving it agonizingly slowly down to your sex. She palmed herself over her panties, turning herself on even more when she felt how soaked she already was for him. She slid her panties to the side, sliding one finger in between her folds and moving in slow long circles, keeping her eyes locked on Jughead the entire as he removed his pants. She felt a hunger inside her grow when he dropped his boxer, his full hard erection finally freed. 

Jughead pumped himself slowly as he watched Betty pleasuring herself on the bed. "That feel good baby?" He asked. She nodded. "As good as me?" He asked again and she shook her head. 

"Please Juggie. I need you." She whispered so softly he almost didn't hear. 

Gripping her legs under her knees, he pulled her so she was right at the edge of the bed. He made quick work of removing her panties as Betty leaned up a bit and unclasped her bra, tossing it off to the side. He rubbed the tip of his cock along her folds in teasing manner and watched as Betty writhed in pleasure.

He positioned himself at her entrance, pushing in ever so slightly. Just as Betty thought he was about to fill her, he pulled out and dropped to his knees, quickly taking her in his mouth. "Fuck!" Betty cried out. His mouth was hot and wet and the sensation nearly made her see starts. 

He flicked his tongue over her clit in small circles as he slid two fingers inside her, pumping fast and hard. He looked up at Betty as she grabbed her breast and fisted her other hand in her hair. The sight of her coming undone made his cock twitch, his was almost painfully hard at this point but he didn't care. He needed to make her come, make her scream his name. 

He licked and sucked and thrusted in a third finger. "Oh my god! Fuck! Juggie. Don't stop!" Betty yelled out and he continued this motion, feeling her begin to tighten on his fingers, knowing she was almost there. 

"I'm... I'm gonna come Juggie. Don't stop!" She was full on screaming at this point and he almost let out a proud chuckle. Suddenly Jughead felt her tighten around him and a warm liquid spilled out on his tongue and hand. 

"Oh Juggie!" She screamed as her orgasms made waves through her body. Jughead slowed his movements, helping her through it before pulling his fingers out and kissing his was back up her body. 

"Fuck you taste so god damn good." He whispered into her mouth before she pulled him into a deep kiss. She reached down, grabbing his impossibly hard cock in her hand and pumping slowly. Jughead bucked his hips into her hand, the feeling of her small soft hands gripping him made him feel even bigger. 

"I want you inside me Juggie. I need it." She begged. 

"Put me inside you then baby." He whispered back. 

She reached down with her other hand, placing it on his ass as she positioned him at her entrance with the other. Once he was in place she gripped his ass cheeks and shoved him into her crying out. He then took over and thrust inside her over and over again, going deeper and deeper each time. He kept up this pace, trying to think of anything else he could so he didn't come to quickly. He wanted this last, and he knew she needed it. 

"Harder. Fuck me harder Jug." Betty's words almost made him come completely undone. He he sat up quickly, leaning back on his heels and pulling her hips up as he reached for a pillow, placing it under her ass. This position drove him even deeper. For a second Betty thought she was going to lose her mind. He was impossibly deep and filling her in the most exquisite way. 

He gripped her hips tightly, thrusting even harder, feeling himself coming to the edge. "Touch yourself Betty." He demanded. He watched as her hand flew to her pussy, moving in fast circles. "Fuck that's so hot." He muttered. "I gotta pull out Betty, I'm gonna come." Once again he found himself on the edge not wearing a condom. 

"Birth control. Stay." Was all she could manage and suddenly she was coming. Tightening around his cock and spilling her warm liquid all over him. 

Her undoing was his own and suddenly he was spilling out inside her uncontrollably. He fell forward onto his forearms, making sure to not crush her. They stayed in that position for what seemed like forever, lightly kissing each other, coming down from their orgasms before he pulled out and rolled away to lay next to her. 

"Birth control? Why didn't you tell me the last time?" He asked once he finally regained his breath. 

"Because I wanted you to come on me." Betty said with a smirk and he felt his cock twitch. 

"Jesus fucking christ you are going to be the death of me woman." Was all he could manage. 

Betty laughed and he reached out and pulled her to his side. He knew they would eventually need to talk, but for right now, this was enough. Laying here naked, her body pressed against his, there was nothing else he would rather be doing. Betty seemed to agree and a few moments later she was sound asleep with her head on his chest. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sheeeeesh this chapter is long! It had to be though! It's setting up for so much more story coming you way! Also, I realized it had been a while since we had some good smut, so there ya go. 
> 
> I don't really have any posting schedule, but what I have realized is it's better if I take my time!
> 
> I hope you guys like this chapter. Please leave some comments and remember to follow me on tumblr at bettyj0nes!


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